Population Dynamics of Wild Goats

Dear Colleagues,

Large herbivores play a central role in ecosystems through their impact on vegetation and because they are prey for large predators. Under the current global changes, gathering and analysing information on behaviour and population dynamics of large herbivores is thus crucial for a more integrative understanding of ecosystem functioning, and to have a vision of their potential evolution.

Among large herbivores, wild goats (Capra sp.) have special life-history characteristics. They can live in incredibly difficult habitats, from deserts where water is limited to the highest mountains in the world, where they face extremely harsh winters. They exhibit among the strongest sexual size dimorphism of mammals, males being twice as heavy as females and bearing much longer horns. This leads to substantial different ecological needs between sexes, as well as sexual segregation, sex-specific social traits, and sex-specific ageing patterns. They are highly social and may live in large groups, whose size, composition, and location can be highly variable depending on season, habitat, and density. They have long been considered to be only altitudinal migrants, but recent results show the occurrence of true seasonal migration, though variable between populations. Migration seems most often partial, thus reshuffling social ties and individuals’ spatial distribution seasonally. Last, wild goats have evolved a conservative life-history strategy, based on slow growth and, for males, an investment in mating based on the natural high dominance rank provided by old age. How these characteristics (habitat harshness, sexual dimorphism and segregation, group living, partial migration, conservative life history) impact population dynamics is worth studying deeper in a large range of species and environments, notably in the current context of global change. Indeed, most wild goat species undergo conservation issues according to the IUCN red list reassessed in 2020, while attracting significant interest among trophy hunters and for wildlife tourism. Except for the two European species (C. ibex and C. pyrenaica), classified as of least concern because their numbers are stable, all other species are classified as near threatened, vulnerable or endangered. Major threats to these species come from hybridisation with domestic goats, hunting, and poaching and from the ongoing global changes, which are particularly pronounced in deserts and mountains where these species live. Climate warming, the increased use of mountains for recreational activities, the modification of the land use for agro-forestry and the sharing of resources with domestic herds, and the intensification of infrastructure networks may all have significant consequences for wild goat populations and require further investigation.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide an overview of behaviour, population dynamics,  life-history strategy, monitoring, and conservation of wild goats in response to global changes. The active sharing of recent advances in the study of wild goats should help the scientific community to identify and develop conservation strategies for Capra sp. populations and their habitats. We are pleased to invite submissions of all types relevant to the theme of this issue (reviews or original papers).

Dr. Carole Toïgo
Guest Editor

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• wild goat
• Capra sp.
• behaviour
• population dynamics
• life-history strategy
• monitoring
• hybridisation
• domestic herd
• climate change
• recreational activities