Esigue popolazioni di marmotta della Jura : analisi della vulnerabilità di popolazione. Restricted marmot populations in the Jura : a population vulnerability analysis [Populations limitées de marmottes du Jura : analyse de la vulnérabilité d'une population].

Résumé

During the last hundred years and especially in the last twenty years, about 150 Alpine Marmots (Marmota marmota) have been reintroduced in several sites of the Swiss Jura mountains. At present time, the populations are all restricted, both in space and in population size, and recent field studies indicate that the populations are remaining rather stable. Such reintroduced and restricted populations are exposed to considerable extinction risks. Population Vulnerability Analysis (PVA) is an integrated approach designed to deal with such cases where reduced viability is expected on the grounds of habitat quality, inbreeding, regional catastrophes and demographic processes that occur in small populations. We present a simple PVA for the Marmot populations of the Jura and assess extinction risks on the basis of population data collected by Humbert Droz & Thossy (1990) and the Centre de conservation de la faune, St Sulpice, Switzerland. The problems of conservation and management are discussed in connection with the high risk of extinction of the Jura metapopulations.