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186 M. Masseti: Homogenisation and the loss of biodiversity of mammals of the Mediterranean islands

Table 3 Former and present occurrence of populations of Capra aegagrus (Erxleben 1777) on some of the Mediterranean islands
without artificial food supply (from Masseti 2003a and 2009b).

Island Subspecies Altitude (m) Area (km2) Notes

Montecristo (Italy) Capra aegarus pictus 645 10.39 Extinct
Tavolara (Italy) Capra aegagrus 555 6 Extinct
La Galite (Tunisia) Capra aegagrus 400 Extinct
Samothrace (Greece) Capra aegagrus pictus 1840 10
Youra (Greece) Capra aegagrus dorcas 570 178
Antimilos (Greece) Capra aegagrus pictus 686
11
8

vulnerability of the insular ecosystems, it can often be full commensal of man in urban areas (Masseti 2002c).
advisable to seriously consider their eradication, as in the At Amorgos, in the eastern Cyclades (Aegean Sea,
case of Columbrete Grande (Castello´ n, Spain) (Masseti Greece), it was even possible to surprise this mustelid
and De Marinis 2008). Occasionally, wild boars too are while it was rummaging amongst the rubbish containers
able to survive on small islands, such as the populations in the very centre of Chora, the capital of the island. In
that inhabit Caprera, Maddalena, Spargi, Asinara and continental conditions, the pine marten is considered
Marittimo, in the Italian seas. On the other side of the mainly as a vole predator, but it is, in reality, an oppor-
Mediterranean basin, the occurrence of the same species tunistic carnivore with a generalised diet, which appears
has been reported on the small Turkish islets of Cleopatra to be capable of exploiting feeding resources in relation
(Sehir Adalari), Deg˘ irmen Bu¨ ku¨ , on the Seven Islands to their local availability (Clevenger 1993, De Marinis and
(Yediadalar) in the Gulf of Go¨ kova, on the island of Yildiz Masseti 1995). On the island of Elba, in the northern Tyr-
in the gulf of Marmaris, the island of Domuz in the gulf rhenian Sea, for example, this mustelid even becomes a
of Fethiye, the island of Gemile opposite Olu¨ deniz and rat hunter, in view of the availability of this species of prey
the island of Geykova, all located very close to the south- (De Marinis and Masseti 1996, De Marinis et al. 2004). In
western coast of Anatolia (Masseti 2007c). the more particular case of the weasel, its favourite con-
tinental prey is voles of the genus Microtus (Sheffield and
Together with the stone marten, the weasel, Mustela King 1994). On the Mediterranean islands, however,
nivalis (L. 1766) and the pine marten, Martes martes (L. these rodents are very rare and the carnivore changes its
1758) also figure amongst the extant carnivores most feeding ecology from specialised microtine hunter to
widespread on the Mediterranean islands (Masseti murid hunter (De Marinis 1996, De Marinis and Masseti
1995a, De Marinis and Masseti 2003). All these mustelids 2003).
can be regarded as generalist predators, since they are
able to vary their diets according to local and seasonal As far as is presently known, voles have been reported
food availability (cf. De Marinis and Masseti 1995, De from only three Mediterranean islands inhabited by wea-
Marinis 1996, De Marinis et al. 2004). These are carni- sels: the Savi’s pine vole, Microtus savii De Selys-Long-
vores that humans have accepted as neighbours, but are champs 1838, on Sicily (Amori 1993), the Thomas’s pine
also those best at avoiding contact with man (Ragni et vole, M. thomasi Barrett-Hamilton 1903 (Ondrias 1966,
al. 1999, Masseti 1995a, 2002b). In several islands, Thanou et al. 2006), and the common vole, M. arvalis
Martes foina can, for example, be found behaving as a Pallas 1778, on Euboea (Cheylan 1988), the latter being

Figure 21 Former and present occurrence of populations of wild goats, referred to the phenotypes of Capra aegagrus, on Medi-
terranean islands -200 km2, without artificial food supply (from Masseti 2003a).