Evaluating factors driving habitat selection in golden jackal (Canis aureus): telemetry reveals strong anthropic influence

Once restricted to the south-eastern Balkans, the golden jackal (Canis aureus) has rapidly colonized most European countries over the last few decades. Although the species' ecological plasticity is well documented, few high-resolution studies have investigated habitat selection. Using satellite telemetry, we compared fine-scale habitat selection patterns of jackals living in less- and more-disturbed environments to identify potential context-dependent differences. We analysed 5,816 GPS locations from 11 GPS-collared jackals (7 males, 4 females). To ensure comparability among individuals, data were analysed within the continuous-time movement models framework. For each individual, we investigated day-night habitat selection using integrated resource selection functions with autocorrelation weights. We assessed selection for landscape features, prey availability, and human disturbance in jackals inhabiting low-disturbance (LD, n = 7) and high-disturbance (HD, n = 4) areas. In both habitat types, jackals selected natural features, particularly forest cover and open natural areas, during both day and night. Potential prey availability produced few significant results and only for LD jackals, which avoided areas highly suitable for wild boar during the night. Human-related factors yielded the strongest patterns. During daytime, jackals in both habitats avoided areas highly frequented by humans (urban and outdoor areas), while selecting crop fields. At night, crops were selected in natural habitats, whereas areas with high outdoor activity were selected in high-disturbance habitats. Although similar general patterns, habitat selection depended on environmental context. Natural features were strongly selected during day (low activity) than during night (high activity) with higher selection coefficients for HD jackals than for LD. This likely suggests the crucial role of small natural patches for both foraging and shelter in human-dominated landscapes. Furtherly, during daytime jackals avoided areas close to urban settlements or used for outdoor activities. Interestingly, crops may be selected for foraging in LD jackals and for shelter in HD jackals. No clear patterns were found in when considering prey availability, asking for more detailed analyses. Overall, our findings emphasize the ecological plasticity of golden jackals and the key role of humans in shaping their habitat selection, remarking the need for further research, particularly to clarify predator–prey dynamics.