Igelkottspopulationen (Erinaceus europaeus) i Sverige : Effekter av folkmängd, temperatur och grävling | The West European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) population in Sweden. : Effects of human population, temperature and badger.
2025
Pettersson, Sofie
The West European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) has experienced a declining population throughout Europe for multiple decades. The cause remains unknown, but the interest in this small nocturnal, insectivore has increased in recent years, and it was reclassified to “Near Threatened” on the IUCN Red list in 2020. Surviving the cold harsh climate in Fennoscandia is especially challenging for the hedgehog where the already demanding hibernation is long and the time to require the necessary resources needed is short. This thesis investigates the population trend of the hedgehog from 2005 to 2023 in Sweden. Potential effects that the number of people, average annual temperature and number of badgers (Meles meles) have on hedgehogs are explored through a linear regression model analysis. The used data is downloaded from the observation platform SLU Artportalen, and the World Bank website Climate Change Knowledge Portal. The results indicated positive news regarding the hedgehog population in Sweden as the population size had a significant increase of 82% during the years 2017-2021. The reason for the population increase is unknown, but the regression analysis indicates a significant positive effect of the average annual temperature that explains 32.74% of the variation in the hedgehog relative abundance. Meanwhile the number of people only explained 19.42% and the number of badgers had no significant effect on the hedgehog. Further investigation is needed to determine whether a causal relationship exists.
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