URBAN FAUNA. Studies of animal biology, ecology and conservation in European cities

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1 URBAN FAUNA Studies of animal biology, ecology and conservation in European cities Editors Piotr Indykiewicz Leszek Jerzak Jörg Böhner Brendan Kavanagh Bydgoszcz 2011

2 URBAN FAUNA Studies of animal biology, ecology and conservation in European cities Editors Piotr Indykiewicz, Leszek Jerzak, Jörg Böhner, Brendan Kavanagh Bydgoszcz 2011

3 EDITORS: Piotr Indykiewicz, Leszek Jerzak, Jörg Böhner, Brendan Kavanagh REVIWERS: Tadeusz Barczak, Jerzy Błoszyk, Janusz Dąbrowski, Aleksander Herczek, Sławomir Kaczmarek, Piotr Kamiński, Andrzej Klimek, Janusz Markowski, Włodzimierz Meissner, Hanna Piekarska-Boniecka, Barbara Piłacińska, Maria Wawrzyniak, Barbara Wilkaniec COVER DISIGN BY: Jan Korbolewski & Piotr Indykiewicz Copyright by Piotr Indykiewicz ISBN: PUBLISHER: Uniwersytet Technologiczno-Przyrodniczy w Bydgoszcz (University of Technology and Life Sciences in Bydgoszcz) PRINTED IN POLAND BY: ELPIL in Siedlce Book orders or exchange for other publications: passer@utp.edu.pl

4 URBAN FAUNA Studies of animal biology, ecology and conservation in European cities Piotr Indykiewicz, Leszek Jerzak, Jörg Böhner, Brendan Kavanagh (eds.) UTP Bydgoszcz Karolina Jasińska, Jacek Goszczyński 1 Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Department of Forest Zoology and Game Management, Nowoursynowska 159, PL Warszawa, Poland 1 sep.wedrowny@gmail.com The occurrence of mammals in Warszawa cemeteries Abstract: Cemeteries in big cities often provide suitable conditions for the survival of mammals. In Warsaw many species live on old cemeteries surrounded by green areas Powązki Cemetery, Powązki Military Cemetery and St. Katherine in Służew Cemetery (7 species). The most frequently found species are: stone marten Martes foina (100% appearance) and domestic cat Felis catus (95%). Also recorded are: red squirrel Scirus vulgaris (60%) and red fox Vulpes vulpes (55%). There is no statistic difference between number of species in old (4.6) and new (4.7) cemeteries. However, statistically important differences exist between cemeteries surrounded by green areas (5.1) and cemeteries isolated from green areas (3.2). Based on winter tracks and signs, calculated correlation coefficients of density of most species are shown (negative correlations for stone marten and fox as well sa for fox and domestic cat, positive correlation for stone marten and domestic cat). Key words: mammals, theriofauna, cemeteries, Warsaw Introduction Dynamic development of big cities started at the beginning of the XIX century (Luniak 1998, Pietrzak 2004), and have now become a fundamental part of the environment. Large cities impact on their surroundings, resulting in animals adapting to urban conditions (Romanowski 1980, Pietrzak 2004). In cities, natural plant and animal associations are altered, noise and litter is increased, and traffic and lights at night are intensified (Andrzejewski 1975, Pietrzak 2004). Animals are exposed to the pressure of humans, and domestic cats and dogs (Luniak 1998, Markowski et al. 1998). On the other hands the city creates conditions which favour the existence of wild animals. Cities provide shelters or breeding areas. The food base for animals is specific (food garbage). There are green areas and green corridors, which become migration routes for 533

5 K. Jasińska, J. Goszczyński animals (Luniak 1998, Trojan & Winiarska 2001, Piłacińska et al. 2004). There is also a reduction in natural predators. Cemeteries are exceptional places in the cities. The animals which frequent them are exposed to less pressure from humans and dogs, in comparison to other urban areas. These areas are cut off from the noise of the city and the night lights are not as bright. The predators, both natural and the synanthropic are not as common. The old trees, and even the graves constitute good shelters for the animals. City cemeteries often adjoin other cemeteries or green areas, which creates migration routes for the animals. The aim of this work is to define the species composition of the theriofauna existing in the Warsaw cemeteries and to indicate the most popular cemeteries used by animals based on data collected in the selected necropolis in the polish capital city. Study area The research has been conducted on 20 selected cemeteries. The full list including descriptions is presented in the table 1. Materials and methods Data were collected between October 2006 and July 2008 using direct observations and winter tracking. The methods did not include bats or small rodent species. The presence of faeces, trails or feeding signs were also recorded. There were 61 observations registered in total. The winter tracking was limited by the amount and duration of snow during the period of the research. The total length of the winter tracking was km. The results of the winter tracking have been presented as the number of tracks for 1 km in 24 hours. The observed tracks of dogs was not counted, only the presense of these predators has been noted. On the basis of the results of the direct observations and the winter tracking data the number of mammal species which occur in each cemetery has been established. The percentage of cemeteries in which each species was observed and the relative abundance of each species in the cemeteries was assessed. We used the direct observations and winter tracking to compare old and new cemeteries, and cemeteries surrounded by the green areas with cemeteries isolated from green areas. The results have been statistically analysed using Student t test. The winter tracking data also enabled the calculation of a correlation coefficient between the density of the most noted species: a stone marten and a cat, a stone marten and a red fox, a stone marten and a red squirrel, a cat and a red fox, a cat and a red squirrel and between a red fox and a red squirrel. 534

6 The occurrence of mammals in Warsaw cemeteries Table 1. Characteristic of the cemeteries, where the research has been conducted Cemeteries Surroundings Year of Area establishe [ha] Green area / Blocks Houses Cemetery Comments Tarchomin , Komunalny Młociński 1972/ Północny Forest - + Wawrzyszew , Powązki Military (1912) Lasek na Kole + - Powązki Jewish , Evangelic-Augsburg , Evangelic-Reformed , Orthodox Sowiński (1836) Wola Park + - Wola Warsaw Insurgents ,5 park - - no fence Old Catholic Mariavites , low wall Soviet Military Pole Mokotowskie - - no fence Czerniaków , Skarpa mesh St. Katherine (1238) 1,5 Ursynowska, - + fence,low in Służew after 1839 allotments wall Służew New Wilanów , low wall Powsin , Bródno allotments + - Jewish Bródno allotments + - Results Twelve mammal species were noted in the 20 cemetries surveyed. The largest number of species occurred in the Powązki Cemetery, the Powązki Military Cemetery and St. Katherine in Służew Cemetery (Tab. 2). 535

7 K. Jasińska, J. Goszczyński Table 2. Number of species observed on each Warsaw cemetary Species observed Cemetery Stone marten Ded fox Dog Tarchomin s s s s 4 Komunalny Północny t,s t t t t t,o 6 Wawrzyszew t,s t t t 4 Powązki Military t,s t t t s t,s t 7 Powązki t,s t s t,o,s s t t 7 Jewish t s s o 4 Evangelic-Augsburg t,s t,o s t,o t, o 5 Evangelic-Reformed t,s t t 3 Orthodox Wola t,s s t,s t,s 4 Wola t,s t t,s s(?) s 4 Warsaw Insurgents t t o,s t 4 Old Catholic Mariavites s s 2 Sowiet Military t t t t 4 Czerniaków s s o 3 St. Katherine in Służew t,s t t,o,s s o t o 7 Służew New t,s t,o,s o 3 Wilanów t t s t s s 6 Powsin t t t 3 Bródno t,s t,o s t o t 6 Jewish Bródno t t t t t t 6 Cat t winter tracking, o direct observations, s signs of the existence (faeces, trails or comsumtion tracks) European hedgehog European mole Red squirrel Brown hare Brown rat Small rodents Sum of species Stone martens and domestic cats were observed in most cemetries, while red foxes and red squirrels were recorded in approximately half of the sites (Fig. 1). The cemeteries were divided into the old and new, with new cemeteries defined as those created after The total surface area of old cemeteries (276.1 h 2 ) constitutes the 2/3 of all the cemeteries, The area of new ones cemeteries was h

8 The occurrence of mammals in Warsaw cemeteries In the old cemeteries 2-7 mammals species were observed with an average of 4.6 species per site. In the new cemeteries 4 6 species were noted, with an average of 4.7 species per site. There was no statistical difference between the species noted in the old and the new cemeteries (t=0,08, p>0,05). The average number of the species which occur in the cemeteries adjoining the green areas was 5.1 species, whereas the average number in cemeteries isolated form the green areas was 3.2 species (Fig. 2). The difference was statistically significant (t=2,72, p<0,05). 100 Occurence (%) Stone Marten Red Fox Dog Cat European Hedgehog European Mole Red Squirrel Brown Here Brown Rat Small Rodents Spiecies observed Figure 1. Frequency of mammal species at Warsaw cemeteries 9 8 Cemeteries surrounded by green areas Cemeteries isolated Number of species Komunalny Północ Powązki Militarny Powązki Jewish Evangelic-Ausburg Evangelic-Reformed Wola Orthodox Wola Orthodox Warsaw Insurgenis Soviet Military St. Katherine in Służew Wilanów Powsin Bródno Jawish Bródno Tarchomin Wawrzyszef Czerniaków Sużew New Old Catholic Mariavites Figure 2. Comparing the number of species observed in the cemeteries surrounded by green areas and isolated from the green areas 537

9 K. Jasińska, J. Goszczyński Table 3. Number of tracks per 1 km route per 24 hours Cemetery Stone marten Red fox Red squirrel Cat Brown hare Rodents Komunalny Północny Wawrzyszew Powązki Military Powązki Evangelic-Augsburg Evangelic-Reformed Orthodox Wola + Warsaw Insurgents Sowiet Military Służew New Bródno Jewish Bródno means dog tracks Table 4. Correlation coefficient for density of most perform species on cemeteries Dog Species Correlation coefficient p Stone marten-red fox >0.05 Stone marten-cat 0.80 <0.01 Stone marten-red squirrel 0.10 >0.05 Red fox-cat >0.05 Red fox-red squirrel >0.05 Cat-red squirrel >0.05 All cemeteries where the winter tracking research was conducted had stone marten and domestic cat present. The next most observed species was red squirrel. The least common species recorded was brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778), (Tab. 3). On the basis of winter tracking data the correlation coefficient between the density of most often occurring mammal species was stone marten, red fox, domestic cat and red squirrel in decreasing order (Tab. 4). Discussion The presence of synanthropic and synurban mammals was observed in all Warsaw cemeteries examined. The most common species were domestic cat (95% of 538

10 The occurrence of mammals in Warsaw cemeteries all occurrences) and stone marten (100%). The latter species is still expanding in cities (Goszczyński 1979, Romanowski 1980). These two species were recorded in all isolated cemeteries. Red squirrel was the third most common species to occur (60%), being a species which lives in highly urbanised areas (Goszczyński 1979, Luniak 1990). The fourth most common species recorded was red fox (55%), which until recently has been only observe suburban areas, mainly in forests (Luniak 1990) or on the banks of Vistula river (Goszczyński 1979). Dogs Canis familiaris were observed in 40% of cemeteries. Most of these individuals probably belonged to the cemetery guards or people who work there. Although these animals generally do not go deep into the cemeteries, they are avoided by other species and constitute a danger for them.other species observed in the cemeteries included the European mole Talpa europaea, the European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus, the brown hare, and the brown rat Rattus norvegicus. Additional rodents observed at Warsaw cemeteries included house mouse Mus musculus, a striped fields mouse Apodemus agrarius (Andrzejewski et al. 1978, Gliwicz 1980) and yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis. The brown hare population has fallen dramatically in recent years (Jezierski 2007). During the research, brown hare was recorded in two cemeteries: Komunalny Północny Cemetery and St. Katharina s Old Cemetery in Służew. Both of the cemeteries are adjoining Nature reserves: Młociński Forest and Kampinoski National Park, as well as the Skarpa Ursynowska, which are known to have existing brown hare populations. European hedgehogs were recorded in three of them. These data are incomplete due to the fact that hedgehogs are nocturnal and hard to detect. The urbanization process of this species has allowed it to take advantage of cemeteries, where food and shelter is abundant (Piłacińska et al. 2004). The presence of the brown rat and striped fields mouse is expected as these are highly synanthropic species (Chudoba & Humiński 1963) which prefer to live in highly urbanized areas (Luniak 1990) and have previously been recorded deep in the middle of the city (Chudoba et al. 1961). Recent evidence would indicate that the yellow-necked mouse, which lives mainly in forests, can also expand into the city if it finds an appropriate enclave (Piłacińska et al. 2004, Babińska-Werka et al. 2008). These could be house gardens, allotments or green squares, where it has occurred in Wroclaw (Chudoba et al. 1961), as well as in cemeteries. In Warsaw it has been observed in cemeteries adjoining forest areas. The greatest number of mammals seven was observed in the Powązki Cemetery, in the Powązki Military Cemetery and in the St. Katherine in Służew Cemetrey. These are three old cemeteries bordering green areas, Lasek na Kole, Jewish Cemetery and Skarpa Ursynowska, which is a landscaped nature reserve. The smallest number of species two was noted in the Old Catholic Mariavites Cemetery. It is a small isolated cemetery far from any green areas. 539

11 K. Jasińska, J. Goszczyński There were no significant statistical differences between the number of species occurring in the old and the new cemeteries, despite the fact that old cemeteries often have flora which already existed when the cemetery was created (Chudzicka et al. 1998, Pietrzak 2004), whereas the vegetation in new cemeteries is newly planted and designed. The newest cemetery examined Komunalny Północny Cemetery is already 25 years old. Moreover, it is situated next to the Młociński Forest and Kompinoski National Park, which is a rich source of new inhabitants for all of this time. The other new cemeteries, Soviet Military Cemetery and Warsaw Insurgents Cemetery, are also surrounded by green areas making them part of the migratory routes of animals, which visit the cemetries in search for food or shelter. Apart from the size of a cemetery, the theriofauna also influences its species diversity. The cemeteries isolated from green areas have fewer species and only animals which are not afraid of people or which benefit from the presence of humans such as the cat, the red squirrel and the stone marten. A number of relationships emerge from the correlations of the winter tracking data. The relative density of the four most commonly occurring specie was calculated. There was no correlation between red squirrel and the other species. In the case of red fox and domestic cat, and red fox and stone marten, a negative tendency for coexistent of this species occurs. It assumes that the cemeteries offer theses two species a surplus of food and shelter, allowing them to coexist successfully. Conclusions 1. In the Warsaw cemeteries two mammal species, stone marten and domestic cat were most frequently observed. 2. Other common species included red squirrel, red fox, european mole and dog. 3. There was a positive correlation between the occurrence of stone marten and cat. 4. The number of species observed increased with the size of the cemetery and was greater in the cemeteries surrounded by green areas or other cemeteries, which provided ecological corridors for those animals. 5. Domestic cat and stones marten were noted in all cemeteries. They even occurred in the cemeteries isolated from the green areas, suggesting they are highly tolerant of human disturbance. 6. Red fox and Red squirrel preferred cemeteries adjoining green areas. 7. Brown hare was recorded in two cemeteries, which adjoined forests Młociński Forest and Skarpa Ursynowska. 540

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