Diet preferences of European hares (Lepus europaeus) and mountain hares (Lepus timidus) in sympatry

Since the last century, a decline of the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) populations have been recorded in Sweden and Russia. Contemporaneously with the decline of the mountain hares, an expansion of the European hares (Lepus europaeus) in these areas has been ascertained. A report of hunting statistics of the Grisons (Switzerland) indicates that the subspecies Alpine mountain hare (Lepus timidus varronis) is displaced upwards by the European hare. Thereby, on the one hand the available area for the mountain hares decreases, on the other hand it seems as if the mountain hares ascends slower than the European hares. The examples from Sweden and Switzerland suggest the assumption that the European hares benefit from the climate warming and expand their habitats to the north and to higher altitudes, thus displace the mountain hares from their traditional habitats. Although in the literature the expansion of the European hares is regarded as the main cause of the mountain hares decline, empirical studies which study both hare species in sympatry are practically absent. The proposed project focuses on the question whether in sympatric areas the competition leads to a possible niche separation in the diet pref-erences (chemical components). The project is integrated in a larger research project in which additionally a possible niche separation in the spatial and temporal space use and in the diet preferences (botanical composition) is investigated. Diet preferences of both species in sympat-ric and allopatric areas are assessed by faecal analysis. Thereby, we hope to be able to draw inferences about the type of competition. Our aim is to provide evidence for potential impact of global warming to the alpine fauna.