An Experimental Study in Wild Wood Mice Testing Elemental and Isotope Analysis in Faeces to Determine Variations in Food Intake Amount

Navarro-Castilla, Álvaro; Hernández, Miguel Cruz; Barja, Isabel

doi:10.3390/ani13071176

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…Conversely, there was a positive correlation for Apodemus mice, which are generally more socially tolerant (Spearman's ρ: r = 0.865, p < 0.001). For a more comprehensive understanding of species-, sex-, age-, nutrition-, and habitat-specific characteristics, as well as effects of diel vulnerability to predation in the future, it would be promising to combine the camera trap survey with live-trapping [84][85][86], diet tracing [31,[87][88][89][90], and further related aspects [69,[91][92][93][94][95][96]. This approach would also enable a more precise measurement of the crucial parameter of availability [97].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Changes in Nycthemeral Availability of Sympatric Temperate Mixed Forest Rodents: The Predators’ Perspective

Probst,

Probst

2023

Life

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(1) Background: Bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and Apodemus mice are of exceptional importance as prey for predators in temperate mixed forests. We hypothesized that overall prey availability would increase linearly with prey frequency, and that the daylight hours, which are considered particularly dangerous, would be used only during seasonal rodent population peaks and only in the twilight hours. (2) Methods: We conducted a two-year camera-trapping study in an inner alpine mixed forest and collected 19,138 1 min videos in 215 camera-trap nights. Prey availability was defined as the pseudo-replication-limited maximum number of the respective rodent taxon per 30 min period, summed per season. (3) Results: Overall prey availability increased with frequency, i.e., the maximum number of rodent individuals per camera-trap night. Seasonally, Apodemus mice were particularly available to predators in the summer and bank voles in the autumn after a tree mast year. In both cases, this was accompanied by a significant increase in diurnal availability. During the population peak of Apodemus mice, the nocturnal availability of bank voles decreased without a concurrent increase in absolute diurnal availability, even though the significant relative shift to diurnal activity superficially suggested this. Bank voles were active throughout the day, while Apodemus mice were nocturnal and (rarely) crepuscular. (4) Conclusions: Availability of rodents to predators, especially during daylight hours, was mainly dependent on their tree mast-induced increased frequencies. Bank voles likewise responded strongly to interspecific competition with the larger and aggressive Apodemus mice, which negatively affected availability to predators. At our seasonal level of evaluation, we conclude that nycthemeral availability of forest-dwelling rodents to generalist predators of temperate mixed forests is predominantly driven by bottom-up mechanisms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Changes in Nycthemeral Availability of Sympatric Temperate Mixed Forest Rodents: The Predators’ Perspective

Probst,

Probst

2023

Life

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“…However, dominant wolves eat rst (Mech and Boitani 2007), gaining access to the most nutritional parts. Diet quality has signi cant repercussions on animal´s physical condition (Loeb et al 1991;Codron et al 2007) and can be assessed through faecal indicators such as total nitrogen percentage (Aldezabal et al 1993;Robbins et al 2005;Baldwin and Bender 2009;Navarro-Castilla et al 2023). This element is commonly used since proteins are biomolecules of high nutritional value, and it has been used to evaluate the nutritional quality of the diet of numerous mammalian species (Arman et al 1975;Sakaguchi andOhmura 1992, Sergiel et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Iberian wolf’s diet and its quality during breeding season: exploring the influence of zone, wolf groups, prey availability and individual factors

Barja,

Piñeiro,

Talegón

et al. 2024

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Large predators are essential in maintaining ecosystem functioning, and comprehending how their feeding habits change across natural and human-dominated landscapes is crucial to preserve biodiversity. In this study, the diet of Iberian wolves (Canis lupus signatus) during pup rearing season (July to September) has been studied in relation to prey abundance and putting emphasis in the analysis of the differences between zones, wolf groups and individual factors (age, sex and social status). For this, non-invasive monitoring was carried out in three zones of Spain where nine different wolf breeding groups were detected (Galicia, n = 4; Zamora, n = 4 and Valladolid, n = 1). Faecal samples were collected near rendezvous sites for dietary and genetic analyses, registering if it was or not a scent mark to know the social status of the individuals. Prey availability was determined by camera trapping or requesting the o cial census of wild prey in the study areas. We found differences in wolf's diet depending on the zone and the breeding group however, the diet did not vary depending on the age, sex and social status. In general, Iberian wolves mainly fed on wild ungulates (wild boar, roe deer and red deer), feeding on the most abundant prey, except for Baldriz group in Galicia which seems to be specialized in hunting roe deer. Domestic animals' consumption (sheep, goat, donkey, pig) was not high, but it occurred specially in agriculture and livestock areas (Ferreras in Zamora and Valladolid) where wild prey were less available. Signi cance StatementWolves are keystone species in ecosystems, but like most carnivores, their nocturnal and elusive habits make them di cult to study.Until now, the in uence of individual factors such as age, sex and social status on the Iberian wolf's diet was unknown. We found that these factors did not explain differences in the diet of the wolves studied, and that feeding preferences differ between reproductive groups and correlated with prey availability.

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Mandibular bone mass density in a medieval population and its relationship with stable isotopes δ13C and δ15N

López-Leyva,

Jiménez-Brobeil,

Magán-Fernández

et al. 2024

Odontology

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The aim of this study was to compare the level of bone mass in digital orthopantomograms in two populations (medieval and current) using two radiomorphometric indexes, and to correlate the mandibular bone mass value, in the medieval mandible population, with stable isotope data δ13C and δ15N. An observational, cross-sectional, and analytical study on mandibles from two diachronic groups, 15 mandibles from the medieval settlement of La Torrecilla (Granada, Spain) and 15 mandibles from current patients at the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Granada (Spain), matched by age and sex was conducted. The bone mass density was determined using the Mandibular Cortical Width Index (MCW) and the Mandibular Panoramic Index (PMI) in digital panoramic radiographs. In the medieval group, the values of bone mass density were correlated with those of two stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N). The mean value of MCW in mm in the medieval group was 3.96 ± 0.60 (mean ± standard deviation) and in the current group was 4.02 ± 1.01. The PMI was 0.33 ± 0.06 and 0.35 ± 0.08 in the medieval and current groups respectively, with similar results in both groups (p = 0.820 and p = 0.575). A negative correlation was found between both morphometric indices and the δ15N isotope (rs = 0.56, p = 0.030 and rs = 0.61, p = 0.016, respectively). The bone mass density in mandibles belonging to the two compared populations, determined by two quantitative radiomorphometric indices, is similar. Within the medieval population, there is an inverse correlation between the δ15N value and bone mass density.

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An Experimental Study in Wild Wood Mice Testing Elemental and Isotope Analysis in Faeces to Determine Variations in Food Intake Amount

Cited by 4 publications

References 88 publications

Seasonal Changes in Nycthemeral Availability of Sympatric Temperate Mixed Forest Rodents: The Predators’ Perspective

Seasonal Changes in Nycthemeral Availability of Sympatric Temperate Mixed Forest Rodents: The Predators’ Perspective

Iberian wolf’s diet and its quality during breeding season: exploring the influence of zone, wolf groups, prey availability and individual factors

Mandibular bone mass density in a medieval population and its relationship with stable isotopes δ13C and δ15N

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