Food, Food Availability and Weight of Badgers (Meles meles) in Relation to Agricultural Changes
- 1 December 1985
- journal article
- research article
- Published by JSTOR in Journal of Applied Ecology
- Vol. 22 (3), 705-715
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2403223
Abstract
(1) The food of badgers was studied by analysis of faeces collected over 8 years in an area in northern Scotland [UK]. The most important food was earthworms, followed by barley. (2) During the study earthworm populations declined, and so did the badgers'' consumption of worms. Barley was taken when no more oats were available, and consumption rose to a relatively high level. (3) Badger body weights in spring and early summer were positively correlated with earthworm consumption at those times of year. (4) It is postulated that at times of low availability of earthworms in spring badgers lose weight, and they compensate by eating other foods, especially barley, later in the year.This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Prey abundance of the European badger, Meles meles L., in north-east ScotlandMammalia, 1983
- Feeding Specialization of the European Badger Meles meles in ScotlandJournal of Animal Ecology, 1981
- The Use of Pasture by the European Badger (Meles meles)Journal of Applied Ecology, 1979
- Estimating Earthworm Populations by Using FormalinNature, 1959