Mustelid scent-marking in managed ecosystems: implications for population management

Scent-marking is the primary form of communication for mustelids and is imp ortant in understanding their sociobiology. In addition, mustelids interact with managed ecosystems or may themselves be managed. However, little is k nown about the scent-marking behaviour of most mustelids or the impact of m anagement on this behaviour. Mustelids have a number of different scent mar k types that can be used for several possible functions, creating a flexibl e system of varied scent-marking strategies both across and within species. We review the types of scent marks used by European mustelids in relation to their social systems and consider the various hypotheses proposed for th eir function. Scent-marking behaviour is nor fixed for each species, but va ries with habitat and population density. We use Badgers (Meles meles) as a n example of mustelids acting as reservoirs of disease and Otters (Lutra lu tra) as an example of a key conservation species, to demonstrate the applie d importance of understanding natural patterns of mustelid scent-marking st rategies and the impact of habitat and population management on them.