Mammalian carnivores play a vital role in ecological networks since they mediate a significant amount of top-down control. In terms of species richness and ecology, mesocarnivores (carnivores weighing less than 15 kg) are more diverse and abundant than large carnivores. However, mesocarnivores are difficult to track due to their solitary way of life, nocturnal, and crepuscular behaviors, as well as their extensive home ranges. Considering time, financial, and logistic demands, invasive techniques are difficult to implement. As a result, non-invasive methods of monitoring, such as iDNA (invertebrate-derived DNA), are becoming increasingly popular. Using flies, ticks, and mosquitoes, this method may be modified to monitor mesocarnivore composition in temperate zones. To obtain a basic description of population and community parameters in Central Europe, genetic data will be combined with niche modelling and interpreted using landscape and conservation genetics paradigms.
- zadáno vedoucím/školitelem