Fatima Zohra Bissaad

Agricultural intensification is a key driver of biodiversity loss in Mediterranean agroecosystems, yet its effects on protected bat assemblages remain poorly documented in northern Africa. All six bat taxa recorded are legally protected in Algeria. Several of the recorded species are also covered by international conservation instruments for their European populations, while the probable North African endemic Plecotus cf. gaisleri is of particular biogeographic interest. We conducted a preliminary assessment of bat activity, diversity, and community composition at two representative agricultural sites—a low-input citrus orchard and an intensively managed vineyard—in northern Algeria. Acoustic monitoring was conducted from March to November 2023. A total of 349 acoustic contacts were recorded at the citrus orchard site and 74 at the vineyard site, corresponding to a 4.6-fold difference in observed activity. Negative binomial modelling indicated a substantially lower fitted contact rate at the vineyard than at the orchard (IRR = 0.215, 95% CI: 0.130–0.355). Monthly taxon richness and Shannon diversity were also higher at the orchard. The vineyard assemblage was strongly dominated by Pipistrellus kuhlii, whereas a more taxonomically diverse assemblage was detected at the orchard. NMDS suggested site-associated structuring of bat assemblages, and a paired PERMANOVA detected a significant difference between the two sampled sites (R² = 0.281, pseudo-F = 6.26, p = 0.004). No statistically significant difference in multivariate dispersion was detected (PERMDISP: F = 0.808, p = 0.100), although the small sample size limits the power of this diagnostic test. Although based on a single orchard–vineyard pair, these results suggest that the low-input orchard examined here may provide favourable conditions for a protected bat assemblage. Replicated multi-site studies are needed before generalizing this pattern to low-input perennial agroecosystems across North African farmland.

Understanding how climate and host plant characteristics drive pest dynamics is essential for sustainable vineyard management. This study investigated the seasonal population dynamics of Frankliniella occidentalis and Jacobiasca lybica across four grapevine cultivars (Dabouki, Muscat, Red Globe, Victoria) in Boumerdès, northern Algeria, during the 2022 growing season. Both species showed distinct seasonal patterns, with F. occidentalis peaking in mid-summer and J. lybica reaching maximum abundance in late August. Jacobiasca lybica was strongly correlated with temperature, whereas F. occidentalis was negatively influenced by rainfall. The generalised linear models highlighted the significant effects of climatic variables on pest abundance. Among the grape cultivars, Dabouki exhibited higher infestation levels by J. lybica compared with the other cultivars, while no significant cultivar-related differences were observed for F. occidentalis. Redundancy analysis identified temperature as the main environmental factor shaping pest population dynamics. These results highlight the combined influence of climate and cultivar susceptibility on pest dynamics and support locally adapted integrated pest management in Mediterranean viticulture.

The last native population of Barbary deer (Cervus elaphus barbarus) lives across the northern border of Algeria and Tunisia; its small population size and global-change pressures limit conservation options, and basic habitat requirements, including diet, remain poorly known. In the Akfadou Forest enclosure (Algeria), where concerns have been raised about woodland condition and limited perennial seedling recruitment, we assessed dietary preferences using micro-histological analysis of faecal samples collected across four seasons. A wide variety of plants was ingested; grasses dominated overall, particularly Avena sterilis and Carex spp., while evergreen trees and woody shrubs also contributed substantially, including Cytisus triflorus, Hedera helix, and Cistus salvifolius. The balance between grazing and browsing indicates that the Barbary deer is an intermediate feeder. Diet composition varied seasonally, with more forbs in winter, more grasses in spring, and greater consumption of trees and shrubs in summer and autumn. These results provide baseline information to support enclosure management and to guide conservation actions for this threatened endemic subspecies, and they highlight the value of complementary analyses of food availability and nutritional quality.

South Mediterranean forests are known for their spatial and temporal variability in fauna and flora species abundance. Using acoustic surveys and generalized linear models, we investigated the nocturnal activity of bats in five forest sites in northeast Algeria from March to November. A total of 12 species were detected: Rhinolophus blasii, R. hipposideros, Tadarida teniotis, Miniopterus schreibersii, Eptesicus isabellinus, Hypsugo savii, Pipistrellus kuhlii, P. pipistrellus, Plecotus gaisleri, Myotis cappaccinii, M. emarginatus, and M. punicus. Activity levels varied significantly among months and sites. Overall bat activity and P. kuhlii activity increased from spring to summer, peaked in August, and slightly decreased in early autumn. Activity levels also differed markedly among forest sites, with low activity levels in the urban forest site, and E. isabellinus was mostly active in only two forest sites. These results suggest that both environmental conditions and location-specific factors shape the activity patterns.

We investigated the feeding ecology of the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata in a semi-arid area of its northwestern Algerian native range over 8 months (September to April). Our results from micro-histological analysis based on faecal pellets revealed that this strict herbivore ate only 10 plant species, 8 wild and 2 cultivated, belonging to 9 families including Lamiaceae, Palmaceae, Poaceae, Ramnaceae and Fabaceae. The autumn diet was dominated by Thymus algeriensis, Ziziphus lotus, Chamaerops humilis and Triticum aestivum, the winter diet by T. algeriensis and C. humilis, and the spring diet by Muscari comosum, with a large amount of Vicia faba and T. aestivum. We confirm the role of this rodent species as a generalist herbivore which barely feeds on cultivated plants when wild resources are diverse and abundant.