Abstract
The Srebarna lake, near the Danube River, Bulgaria, is a key site for biodiversity, specifically for ornithofauna. Thus, it has been designated as a managed nature reserve, a biosphere reserve, a Ramsar site, an Important Bird Area and Natura 2000 sites. Srebarna (and recently Persina Island) hosts the only breeding colonies of the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) in Bulgaria, assessed as critically endangered in the Bulgarian Red Data Book (2015). In April 2019, through a remote-controlled video surveillance system, we captured for the first time depredation of eggs of Dalmatian pelican by raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides). As a result of regular Raccoon dog raids (up to three individuals simultaneously), about 25 nesting pelican pairs (approximately 30% of the Bulgarian breeding population) were disturbed and left the breeding grounds looking for new nesting places. These observations show that even few individuals of an invasive species such as the Raccoon dog can have a strong negative impact on concentrations of an endangered species; this necessitates taking proactive measures to control and even remove this species.
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Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Еng. Lyubomir Atanasov (Director of Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water - Ruse), T. Trichkova, N. Kambourova-Ivanova (Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, BAS), P. Nikova (University of Leeds, England) and D. Gradinarov (Bulgarian Society of Protection of Birds) for their invaluable additional help. We are especially grateful for the English editing and valuable comments to Yurii Kornilev and the anonymous reviewers for their comments that improved the manuscript.
Funding
The automated video-recording system was funded by the Project No DIR-5113325-6-96 “Sustainable Management Activities of the “Srebarna Reserve”” and “Beli Lom Reserve” under OP “Environment 2007–2013”, financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and national public co-financing from the Republican budget. The initial data collection was funded by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2009–2014, Programme BG03 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, ESENIAS-TOOLS Project, D-33-51/30.06.2015.
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Yordan Koshev, Momchil Petrov, Nedko Nedyalkov and Ivaylo Raykov. The manuscript was written by Yordan Koshev. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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In this article, all applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. All authors present statement specifying that appropriate permissions were received from the responsible authorities.
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Yordan Koshev, Momchil Petrov, Nedko Nedyalkov and Ivaylo Raykov. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Yordan Koshev and all authors have commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
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Koshev, Y.S., Petrov, M.M., Nedyalkov, N.P. et al. Invasive raccoon dog depredation on nests can have strong negative impact on the Dalmatian pelican’s breeding population in Bulgaria. Eur J Wildl Res 66, 85 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-020-01423-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-020-01423-9