Environmental correlates of main and secondary sett locations in the Eurasian badger ( Meles meles ) in a lowland landscape

The main aim of this research was to investigate site selection for two types of Eurasian badger (Meles meles) setts (main and secondary) in relation to environmental factors (soil type and vegetation structure) and distances to meadows, rivers, human settlements, and public roads in the Stobrawa Landscape Park (SLP, southwestern Poland). A total of 53 badger setts were identified, comprising 31 main setts (58,5%) and 22 secondary setts (41,5%). The environmental variables that most clearly differentiated main and secondary setts were distance to water sources and soil type. Our results indicate that forest type influenced the locations of main setts but was not significantly associated with the locations of secondary setts. Regarding soil type, significant differences were observed between the soil types used for secondary setts and the overall distribution of these soil types in the SLP. We applied various analytical approaches to evaluate sett distribution relative to six habitat and landscape variables. Main setts were located farther from public roads and human settlements, but closer to meadows and water. In the case of secondary settlements, it was revealed that they were situated closer to meadows, where the other conditions (buildings, roads, and water) were not significant. In conclusion, main setts were situated closer to water, whereas secondary setts were farther from water and closer to meadows; the tendency for setts to occur farther from buildings and roads appeared to reflect terrain characteristics rather than species-specific habitat preferences.