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Observations on the feeding of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.)
Abstract
The feeding of the hedgehog in captivity is described and the degree to which this seems to be affected by hibernation.
Altogether 167 food preference tests were performed by nine hedgehogs and the results seem to indicate that though hedgehogs will eat most of the small invertebrates that they find in their natural habitat, they consistently select some rather than others.
... Despite its mainly generalist behaviour, the Algerian hedgehog selects certain prey species, as shown by differences in seasonal overlap between food availability and consumption, and Jacobs' indices distant from 0. Such prey selection has also already been observed in captive European hedgehogs (Dimelow 1963) and in wild common shrew Sorex araneus, two species that rely little on prey availability (Churchfield 1982). In our study, the variation observed across seasons did not result from stochastic variations, but rather came from coherent changes from one month to the next, i.e. not confused points but interpretable patterns of the curves. ...
Recent studies have shown that the Algerian hedgehog, Atelerix algirus, is a true hibernator, showing seasonal variations of its body temperature. This physiological mechanism prompted us to investigate the reproductive function during the hibernation and active life phases in this small mammal. An analysis of variations in the mass throughout the Ms, histology and hormone levels of the testis of this species was carried out in order to shed new light on this previously unstudied physiological aspect in Atelerix algirus. The testicular weight showed maximum values in spring (March [3.60 ± 0.35 g], April [3.08 ± 0.41 g], May [3.10 ± 0.54 g]) and minimum values in autumn (September [2.32 ± 0.37 g], October [1.99 ± 0.42 g], November [1.95 ± 0.55 g]). Plasma testosterone levels were highest in May (19.30 ± 1.63 ng/ml) and June (22.15 ± 1.50 ng/ml), and were minimal in October (0.54 ± 0.16 ng/ml) and November (1.88 ± 0.26 ng/ml). The analysis of the histological sections of the testis and the epididymis of the Hedgehog showed that during the month of October, spermatogenesis is stopped at the primary spermatocyte stage and the seminiferous tubes are small (19.66 ± 3.56 μm). During the months of May and June, spermatogenesis was activated. The seminiferous tubules increased in size (28.27 ± 3.28 μm) and showed signs of spermatogenetic activity. This study shows that the Algerian Hedgehog has a sexual cycle characterized by an autumnal rest, a winter recovery and spring activity.
... Despite its mainly generalist behaviour, the Algerian hedgehog selects certain prey species, as shown by differences in seasonal overlap between food availability and consumption, and Jacobs' indices distant from 0. Such prey selection has also already been observed in captive European hedgehogs (Dimelow 1963) and in wild common shrew Sorex araneus, two species that rely little on prey availability (Churchfield 1982). In our study, the variation observed across seasons did not result from stochastic variations, but rather came from coherent changes from one month to the next, i.e. not confused points but interpretable patterns of the curves. ...
The Algerian hedgehog Atelerix algirus is an insectivorous species. However, the exact composition of its natural diet remains largely undetermined, especially in relation to seasonal variations in food availability. From March to November, we simultaneously analysed the composition of 180 hedgehog faecal samples and food availability in the Soumman Valley, Algeria to assess food selection in this species. The faeces contained 196 different prey species, of which 92% belonged to the class Insecta. The highest prey species diversity was found in the Coleoptera order (100 species recorded) and the highest species occurrence was found in Hymenoptera (65% of the prey items, mainly represented by the harvester ant Messor barbarus, a crop-ravaging species). This study shows that the Algerian hedgehog is mainly a generalist species with a diet that is strongly linked to food availability. However, seasonal variations were observed in prey selection, and a notable shift in food preference was observed during autumn. The exact nature of these changes in feeding behaviour remains to be investigated, notably in relation to changes in energy requirements of this species before hibernation, in terms of quantity and/or quality.
... It is an intestinal parasite of passerine birds which is sporadically found in the intestinal tracts of mammals, causing diarrhea, peritonitis and sometimes increased mortality [32]. Infections seem to occur more often in juveniles than in adult animals, since younger animals also feed on unpalatable prey like woodlice, which are the intermediate hosts for this parasite [32], [45]. However, we were not able to find significant differences in infection rates between adults and juveniles neither for EE nor for ER. ...
Providing descriptive data on parasite diversity and load in sister species is a first step in addressing the role of host-parasite coevolution in the speciation process. In this study we compare the parasite faunas of the closely related hedgehog species Erinaceus europaeus and E. roumanicus from the Czech Republic where both occur in limited sympatry. We examined 109 hedgehogs from 21 localities within this secondary contact zone. Three species of ectoparasites and nine species of endoparasites were recorded. Significantly higher abundances and prevalences were found for Capillaria spp. and Brachylaemus erinacei in E. europaeus compared to E. roumanicus and higher mean infection rates and prevalences for Hymenolepis erinacei, Physaloptera clausa and Nephridiorhynchus major in E. roumanicus compared to E. europaeus. Divergence in the composition of the parasite fauna, except for Capillaria spp., which seem to be very unspecific, may be related to the complicated demography of their hosts connected with Pleistocene climate oscillations and consequent range dynamics. The fact that all parasite species with different abundances in E. europaeus and E. roumanicus belong to intestinal forms indicates a possible diversification of trophic niches between both sister hedgehog species.
... Within many animal populations, individuals of different ages differ substantially in diet or foraging behaviour. Young animals frequently eat relatively small prey and a narrow range of prey types, but may also include apparently unpalatable items in the diet due to inexperience or hunger (Ewer, 1968;Macdonald, 1977). In contrast, older animals usually take a relatively broad range of prey types and sizes. ...
With 4 figures in the text) This study investigates ontogenetic changes in the diet of the European hedgehog, Erinnceus errropeus, in suburban and rural habitats. Animals generally ate more large prey such as molluscs, larvae and carabid beetles as they aged, but fewer small prey such as arachnids and dermapterans. Prey type niche breadths for age classes declined in animals up to seven years of age, whereas niche breadths for individuals remained relatively constant. This implied that young animals sample prey from the entire spectrum of prey types, while older animals specialize on the same narrow range of prey. Hedgehogs attain their maximum body size at 2-3 years of age. The observed dietary changes cannot therefore be attributed to changes in body size, but probably reflect ontogenetic improvements in individual foraging efficiency. Dietary differences between age classes increased the range of prey taken by the hedgehog population, and were usually greatest between animals of divergent ages. Total dietary niche overlaps and overlaps in prey type between age classes were frequently less than a mean interspecific overlap value derived from the literature, suggesting that some age classes may act as 'ecological species'. This kind of intraspecific resource partitioning probably evolves under conditions of strong intraspecific competition but weak interspecific competition and, in hedgehogs, should be most evident in New Zealand where dense populations occur in a virtual ecological vacuum.
... Woodlice (Isopoda), Hymenoptera and cylindrical bark beetles were the least preferred foods. Woodlice have odour-producing lateral plate glands and contain relatively low levels of energy per unit mass, which may contribute to their low preference status in this and other studies of hedgehog diet (Dimelow 1963; Wroot 1984). While ranking of foods, rather than absolute index values, is probably the most realistic indicator of preference (Lechowicz 1982; Norbury and Sanson 1992), in our study, there was an order of magnitude difference in E* values between earwigs and tenebrionid beetles and between the latter and all other food types. ...
We describe the diet of introduced European hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus (Linnaeus, 1758) in a New Zealand dryland system and provide the first quantitative analysis of food selectivity for this
species. We also describe and compare the diets of nine hedgehogs and measure dietary overlap between these individuals. The
most commonly eaten foods were beetles, including rare native species (in 94% of droppings), earwigs (92%), spiders (25%)
and native skinks (14%). Remains of at least three skinks were found in one dropping. Earwigs and darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae)
were the most preferred food types, and Hymenoptera and cylindrical bark beetles (Colydiidae) were least preferred. Consumption
of most foods mirrored their availability. Most individuals’ diets conformed to the pattern seen at the population scale,
with 21–54% of dry faecal mass derived from beetles and 13–39% from earwigs. One animal frequently consumed large amounts
of fruit. Dietary overlap between pairs of individuals was high (mean Horn’s index, 0.84). This may be the result of limited
opportunities to diversify in a very moisture-limited and low diversity habitat.
Keywords
Erinaceus europaeus
–Diet–Dietary overlap–Food selection
... Age differences may also play a role. Dimelow (1963) points out that young hedgehogs were more likely to take unpalatable items such as woodlice. Reeve (1994) lists different prey types eaten by different age groups of European hedgehogs from Oxfordshire, England. ...
The palaeacanthocephalan Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus is a common intestinal parasite of passerine birds, which can also occur parenterally or in the intestinal tract of mammals, often as an invading species in many countries worldwide. In this survey, introduced hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus, n = 183) killed in New Zealand during a biocontrol campaign and conspecifics (n = 174) that had died in hedgehog rehabilitation centers in Germany and Britain were examined for this parasite. In New Zealand, P. cylindraceus is recorded for the first time here, in the vicinity of Auckland. In Europe, prevalences ranged from 4.2% up to 47.6%, while in New Zealand, only 1.6% (Auckland 7.9%). Most of the worms occurred inside the peritoneal cavity where they had partly degenerated. Since hedgehogs are seldom preyed upon in continental Europe but often become traffic victims, we hypothesize that the worms inside them, whether extra- or intraperitoneally, contribute to the abundance and persistence of the parasite by being ingested by scavenging birds. Accordingly, we consider P. cylindraceus as a "modern parasite" taking advantage of two aspects of global change: anthropogenic promoted transmission (road kills) and the transcontinental spread of infected intermediate and/or final hosts caused by humans.
1. The histology of the cuticle and epidermis of certain chilopods and diplopods is described. Two principal layers of the cuticle are recognized, an outer homogeneous and refractile exocuticle which isusually but not invariably pigmented and an inner endocuticle.
2. The endocuticle and the exocuticle both contain chitin. The exocuticle is considered as amodification of the outer part of the chitinous matrix by an impregnating substance.
3. Certain properties of the impregnating substance are described. It appears to be a substance rich in phenolic groups, perhaps a protein, which has a stability and resistance to acids in its own right irrespective of the presence of pigment or aromatic cross-links. Pro-sclerotin is suggested as a name for this substance. Chemical tests show that it is present in regions not optically definable as exocuticle.
4. The epidermis is virtually an epithelium of gland cells which appear to secrete lipoid material. The lipoid passes on to the surface of the cuticle by means of ducts passing through the cuticle. Here it appears to form a superficial layer and to impregnate the sclerotin and pro-sclerotin.
5. There appears to be an intimate association of lipoid with the aromatic groups of the pro-sclerotin and sclerotin. Destruction of the aromatic groups by means of an oxidizing agent appears to intensify the colouring ofthe lipoid by sudan.
6. The myriapod cuticle is shown to have many features in common with that of other arthropods. The main difficulty in the way of extensive homology with other arthropod types is the absence in myriapods of an outer non-chitinous and resistant layer.
A composite diurnal locomotory rhythm has been established in the woodlouse Oniscus asellus. This is correlated primarily with alternating light and darkness, and not with fluctuating temperature or humidity.
The intensity of the humidity response of the species is less in darkness than in light, and less still in darkness when the animals have been kept in darkness for some days previously. It increases with desiccation. The response to light is greater, too, in animals which have been kept in darkness for some days, and these tend to remain photo-negative in dry air whereas controls become photo-positive with desiccation. The sensitivity to carbon dioxide is much greater in animals from a culture kept in darkness than it is in controls.
The results obtained are discussed in relation to the nocturnal ecology of the species.
ZusammenfassungIgel, teils aus anderer Hand erhalten, teils als Wildfänge gezähmt, teils in der Gefangenschaft geboren, wurden zweieinhalb Jahre lang verhaltensbiologisch beobachtet. Das im Alter von drei Wochen gefundene Weibchen Eri wurde völlig zahm und ließ sich gut dressieren.Der Geruchssinn ist führend. Für feindliche starke Düfte beträgt die Reichweite 9m, für Beutetiere wie Käfer etwa Im. Solche nahen Geruchsquellen werden schnell und sicher lokalisiert. überlagert man den Duftort mit starken Fremdgerüchen („Geruchssperre”), so leidet das Lokalisations-vermögen. Der Igel vermag rein olfaktorisch (wenn die Kopfmaske Augen und Schnurrhaare ausschaltet) vertraute Wechsel, besonders den Heimweg zu finden, nicht jedoch über Geruchssperren.Auch das Gehör ist scharf. Mit Atlas-Audiometer und Hundepfeife ergaben sich als Hörgrenzen 64 und 18000 Schwingungen/sek. Für die höchsten Töne genügte eine Lautstärke von — 10 Dezibeln, wenn der menschliche Grenzwert O Dezibel heißt. Auf Klopfen reagierten die Wildfänge bis 31 m, auf Hundegebell bis zu 52 m Abstand; besonders empfindlich sind die Igel auf Zirpgeräusche. Sie lokalisieren den Schall sicher. Dressierte kamen auf Namensruf bis 11 m.Der Gesichtssinn ist schlechter. Die Sehweite betrug bei Tage etwa 30 m, in der Dämmerung ungefähr die Hälfte.Sehr fein ist der Geschmackssinn; bitter und salzig sind unangenehme Qualitäten. Die Nahrungsauswahl ist launisch wechselnd, jedoch stets sehr entschieden. Stark riechende Stoffe lösen Sichselbstbespucken aus, ein angeborenes Verhalten, das im Geschlechtsleben keine Rolle spielt und Hunde nicht beirrt; es wirkt appetitanregend. Vielleicht ist es ein stammesgeschichtliches Relikt.Auf Tastreize sind am empfindlichsten die Schnurrhaare; es folgen der Pelzsaum am Stachelkleid, dann die Kopfstacheln. Bis auf ein Ausnahmetier besteht ausgesprochene Wasserscheu. Igel sind wärmeliebend; die Vorzugstemperatur beträgt etwa 34°C.Auch bei Zimmertemperatur kommt es zum Winterschlaf, besonders bei hohem Luftdruck; fällt er, so wachen sie auf. Draußen verschlafen sie den ganzen Winter.An selbstaufgezogenen Jungtieren wurden die Zeitpunkte des Auftretens von etwa 20 Instinkthandlungen festgestellt und das Reifen des Stachelsträubens, Sicheinrollens und Erbeutens skizziert. Die Einzelheiten dieser Verhaltensweisen treten nacheinander in derselben Reihenfolge auf, wie im Gesamtablauf nach erfolgter Reifung. Auch wird das Verhalten der Artgenossen zueinander, die Balz, die Bildung der Rangordnung in Zwangsgemeinschaften beschrieben.In verschiedenartigen Versuchen zeigten bestimmte Stücke übereinstimmend Linkstendenz, andere Rechtsbevorzugung; Umdressur ist möglich. In bekanntem Gelände weicht die Seitigkeit dem Zickzackgang.Die Igel sind ausgesprochen wechseltreu und haben ein ausgezeichnetes Ortsgedächtnis. Lange Zeit gehaltene Tiere, die am Ort der Gefangennahme ausgesetzt wurden, fanden sogleich ihre ehemaligen Verstecke. Eri findet stets die Hauspforte, Treppe usw.Die Dressurfähigkeit ist gut (Ortsdressuren, Formsignale, Pfiffe, Rufnamen, Schlupfwinkel, Wechsel, Leinenführigkeit, Treppenklettern, Zuneigung zum Pfleger, Ablehnung von Fremden usw.). Auch erfassen die Igel einfache verständliche Zusammenhänge.
Generalized life cycles of five slug species were ascertained from new data on weights of individual slugs together with information on the seasonal state of their genital organs in conjunction with Barnes & Weil's unpublished data on weights.
Arion hortensis hatches mainly in January and February, grows through the summer months to become mature in September and October. These adults live through the winter, laying eggs and gradually losing weight and die before July of the following year.
The eggs of Arion subfuscus are mainly laid in the autumn (late August and September) and hatch sporadically through the winter. The young slugs grow through the spring to become mature in July and the adults die soon after egg-laying.
Agriolimax reticulatus breeds throughout the year but the rate depends on the weather and each year there is a period of intense egg-laying associated with the new spring vegetation, that results in a summer abundance of individuals.
Milax budapestensis hatches during the autumn and winter, grows through the summer to become mature in late October and November when they mate and eggs are laid in the autumn and throughout the winter. The adults die before July of the following year.
Milax sowerbii probably hatches in early spring, grows throughout the summer, becomes mature, mates and starts to lay eggs in September, October and November. The adults die soon after egg-laying.
A comparative study of woodlice which show different degrees of fitness for terrestrial life provides information about the evolution of land faunas and underlines the significance of water relations in this respect.
Species of woodlice differ as regards rates of transpiration and survival in dry air. They may be considered as physical bodies so far as the effects of temperature and humidity upon evaporation are concerned, and they probably lack an epicuticular wax. No simple relation has been found between those climatic factors which affect evaporation and period of survival; neither is it expected on theoretical grounds.
Transpiration from the region of the pleopods is greater, per unit area, than from elsewhere. Pseudotracheae assist respiration in dry air. In moist air oxygen is absorbed through regions of the integument other than the pleopods; but such integumental respiration decreases in importance in more terrestrial species.
The only adaptation to land as regards excretion is a general suppression (compared with aquatic isopods) of nitrogen metabolism. Uric acid in small quantities is retained in the tissues. The faeces are moist. The tegumental glands are not an important source of water loss. The pleopods are not moistened by glandular secretions.
Desiccated woodlice can restore their original weight by absorption of moisture, by mouth and anus, from free water surfaces, and by mouth from moist surfaces, even though the ambient air is unsaturated. The higher forms possess external capillary channels which assist in irrigation of the pleopods.
The osmotic pressure of the blood of Ligia oceanica is higher than that of sea water; that of the other species measured is somewhat lower. Osmotic regulation is possible for Ligia in dilute sea water down to 50%, but adaptation to land on the part of most woodlice seems to be secured by osmotic tolerance rather than regulation.
Woodlice can withstand higher ambient temperatures, for short exposures, in air at 50% R.H. than in saturated air, and this is the result of rapid transpiration. In the field transpiration plays a significant part in determining body temperature, and may be of survival value during exposure to direct insolation.
All species require saturated air or a moist substrate in their permanent habitats, and it is probable that they differ as regards tolerance of suboptimal conditions during wandering rather than dryness of the normal retreat. With this proviso the families which have been investigated stand substantially in the following order of increasing terrestrialness of habitat: Ligiidae, Trichoniscidae, Oniscidae, Porcel-lionidae, Armadillidiidae. They also stand approximately in the same order as regards various morphological and physiological specializations associated with life on land (Table 1).
What success the group has achieved on land may be ascribed to avoidance of the rigours of true terrestrial conditions by means of behavioural mechanisms which retain them in the cryptozoic niche, rather than to morphological or physiological adaptations.
Further information is needed along three lines: (i) precise microclimatic measurements linked with observations of behaviour in the field, (ii) laboratory analysis of orientation mechanisms, (iii) neurophysiological investigation of the sensory mechanisms involved.
The geological age of the group is uncertain, but there were probably land-living oniscoids before the Tertiary. Their comparative lack of progress subsequently may be the result of retaining a water-permeable integument, which is necessary for cooling during brief exposures to high temperatures and also for respiration.
The lobed tegumental glands would seem to play an important part in adapting woodlice to life on land, but although the problem seems a simple one, it has by no means been easy to determine their function.
Evidence from comparative anatomy and physiology is unhelpful and often puzzling, and inactivating the glands seems to have no effect on normal life.
Evidence from a more direct experimental investigation of a variety of hypotheses suggests that the glands do not perform any of the more obviously possible functions, and that they are not concerned with general defence, secretion of gill fluid, water‐proofing the body‐wall, attachment to the substratum, moulting, lubrication of the skin, reproduction, silk formation, capillary water conduction to the gills, temperature control, humidity reactions, or regulation of water content of the body.
Evidence of various kinds suggests that the function performed by the glands is that of defence, not against predators in general, but against one particular group, namely spiders.
Spiders appear to be potentially the most serious enemies of woodlice; but they find woodlice distasteful and the degree of distastefulness is correlated to a remarkable extent with the degree of development of the lobed glands. There is other evidence that the distastefulness is a property of the lobed gland secretions and not of the body tissues and fluids as a whole.
When a woodlouse is attacked by a spider, its lobed glands secrete precisely as they do when stimulated experimentally, and this is the only evidence ever obtained of secretion occurring under natural conditions.
If the function of the lobed glands is to repel spiders, many of the objections to the general defence hypothesis can be answered, and many other puzzling facts relating either to the glands or to the behaviour of woodlice can be explained.
1The locomotory mechanisms of the several groups of Chilopoda and of the Pauropoda are described, together with the factors which determine the choice of the gaits and the morphological features which make possible their execution.2The Epimorpha alone show small changes in body length associated with changes in the gait.3The gaits of the epimorphic and anamorphic Chilopoda are fundamentally different, and have evolved from the further development of types of gait seen in Peripatua ‘middle’ and ‘top gears’ respectively (pp. 121 and 158, and Part 1, p. 554).4Comparison of the gaits of the Onychophora, Chilopoda, Pauropoda and Diplopoda indicate that the locomotory mechanism and the structure of the body wall and limbs in the Onychophora are primitive, and not secondary derivations from jointed animals, p. 160.6Morphological characters facilitate the execution of the gaits and render them mutually exclusive. A phase difference between successive legs of >0.5 is shown by the Epimorpha correlated with short legs, and one of
Changes in the seasonal activity of several species of earthworms have been followed in a permanent pasture field for 18 months, 1945–6. The two soil conditions which chiefly determine activity are temperature and moisture. Other factors are the occurrence of an obligatory diapause in the two species Allolobophora nocturna and A. longa , and changes in population in A. chlorotica and Lumbricus terrestris.
Soil temperature and soil moisture also determined the weight of soil thrown up in the form of wormcasts during autumn, winter and spring. It is suggested that only two species, A. nocturna and A. longa , are responsible for wormcasts and that the other four common species present play little or no part in this activity.
At Rothamsted it was found that the previous agricultural history of the field is an important factor in determining the fauna. Old permanent pasture is characterized by a high percentage of A. nocturna and a rather lower percentage of A. caliginosa. Ploughing old permanent pasture and reseeding to grass after 1 or 2 years arable reduces the proportions of A. nocturna and A. caliginosa and increases that of Eisenia rosea. Arable fields have A. chlorotica as the dominant species and pasture fields 2–7 years grass after many years of arable fanning still show a high percentage of A. chlorotica and a low proportion of A. nocturna.
A survey of the Carse of Stirling, Scotland, showed that soil type is also an important factor in determining the earthworm fauna. A. caliginosa was the dominant species on the three soil types studied, but the subdominant species varied. On clay soil, A. longa was subdominant; on loam, A. longa and L. rubellus ; on sandy soil, A. longa, L. rubellus and A. chlorotica. The dominant species of pasture land at Rothamsted, A. nocturna , was not found at Stirling.
British millipedes Synopses Brit. Fauna
- J G Blower
Observations on the food of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) in New Zealand
- Brockie R. E.
Notes on the food of Chinese hedgehogs
- Liu
The food of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) in the southern forests
- Shilova-Krassova
Chilopodes.Faune de FranceNo
- H W Brölemann
Lumbricidae Synopses Brit. Fauna
- L Cernovitsov
- A C Evans
The structure habits and evolution of the Diplopoda
- Manton
British woodlice Synopses Brit. Fauna
- E B Edney
The locomotion of the Chilopoda and Pauropoda
- Manton
Tegumental glands and terrestrial life in woodlice
- Gorvbtt
Die Biologie der Europäischen Igel
- K Herter
Slugs. Synopses Brit. Fauna
- H E Quick