Nitrogen and Carbon Concentrations in the Stomach Content of Bank Voles (Myodes glareolus). Does Food Quality Determine Abundance?

Palo, Thomas; Olsson, Gert E.

doi:10.2174/1874213000902010086

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In agreement with the results of previous studies, we found no relationship between body length, sex and age on the quality of food consumed by pygmy field mouse or common vole (Palo andOlsson 2009, Janova et al 2015), despite some studies observing improved food quality in breeding or sub-adult animals (Migula 1969, Obrtel and Holisova 1982, Cepelka et al 2014.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

The pygmy field mouse – what does influence food quality?

Jánová

Heroldová

2018

Community Ecology

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The dominant rodent species in Central European agricultural landscapes are granivorous mouse species and herbivorous common voles. Although our knowledge of European wood mice is relatively good, there is a distinct lack of information on pygmy field mice inhabiting Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In this study, we examine the food quality of pygmy field mice in relation to environmental and population factors, and compare the food quality of related mouse species and common voles living in the same study plots. The dietary quality of the pygmy field mouse is similar to that of other mouse species; however, the food quality of pygmy field mice and common voles differed substantially, with mice having lower and more variable nitrogen content. For both rodent species, factors such as body size, age and sex had no influence on diet quality. Pygmy field mouse diet was mainly dependent on season, while total abundance had greatest influence on common vole diet.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

The pygmy field mouse – what does influence food quality?

Jánová

Heroldová

2018

Community Ecology

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“…Further, the 'quality' of food in the stomachs did not change significantly, despite a considerable change in food availability following field set-aside and a consequent decrease in population and body size. Similarly, Palo and Olsson (2009) observed no relationship between N concentration in C. glareolus stomachs and body mass variation between sites and between seasons. A number of studies have confirmed an increase in the requirement for 'quality' food by females during reproduction; Migula (1969), for example, confirmed the increased energetic demand in reproducing common voles in laboratory experiments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…An increase in dietary quality (N level) concurrent with increasing common vole population density was also confirmed by Butet (1996) using classical chemical analysis; though in this case, the influence of sex or female breeding status was not considered. Similarly, Palo and Olsson (2009) noted that density was positively related to stomach N concentrations in bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus populations. These results suggest, therefore, that improved dietary quality may have a strong positive effect on survival and/or reproduction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Cole and Batzli 1978;Briner et al 2007;Hansson 1999;Raoul et al 2001;Tumur et al 2005). Nitrogen (N) is a fundamental element for organisms as it is essential for the production of many proteins and is required for both body growth and reproduction (Karasov and Martinez del Rio 2007;Palo and Olsson 2009). It has long been considered a limiting resource for growth in herbivore populations (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A new method for assessing food quality in common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations

et al. 2014

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Food quality is an important factor influencing the demography of small rodents. While there have been numerous studies on food supply during small mammal population cycles, studies on quality of food consumed are rare due to technical difficulties in estimating nitrogen in small samples, such as stomachs or faeces. In this study, we use a new method, near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS), for estimating nitrogenous compounds (NC) in stomachs of common voles (Microtus arvalis). Samples were taken from two populations over two 3-year periods. Vegetation cover (managed alfalfa/set-aside field), and thus also food supply, differed significantly between the two periods. In analysing the effects of food supply and individual attributes (i.e. sex, body size, reproduction) on NC in stomachs, we were able to show that nitrogen varied uniformly and that sex, body size and season had no effect. No significant difference in NC intake was observed between the two study periods, despite individuals being smaller and the population less abundant during the second period. During the peak densities, however, reproducing females consumed food with a significantly higher level of nitrogen than all other individuals. Our results indicate that changes in food supply do not affect the overall quality of food consumed but that maintenance of nutritional quality may require higher energetic release, which may affect body condition. We confirm that NIRS represents a useful new tool opening new possibilities in small-mammal ecology studies.

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“…For the bank vole (Myodes glareolus), both abundance and winter population declines have been related to food quality (Wereszczynska et al 2007;Palo and Olsson 2009). Selås (1997) suggested that Myodes voles increase in number after years with high production of bilberries because they benefit from improved food quality, caused by a trade-off between reproduction and defence in the plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for different bottom-up mechanisms in wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) and bank vole (Myodes glareolus) population fluctuations in Southern Norway

Selås

2020

Mamm Res

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Animals that feed on forest tree seeds, such as Apodemus mice, increase in number after a mast year. At high latitudes, there is a similar delayed response by Myodes voles to high seed crops of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), but here the mechanism is hypothesised to be increased forage quality, caused by a trade-off between reproduction and defence in the plants. Both Apodemus mice and Myodes voles eat berries, but only the latter feed on bilberry plants. Hence, only Myodes voles are predicted to respond to bilberry peak years. A second prediction is that the effect should last longer than any possible direct impacts of bilberries, because the plants would not be able to rebuild their defence until the succeeding summer. During a 21-year snaptrapping study of small rodents in Southern Norway, the spring population of bank vole (Myodes glareolus) was positively related to a bilberry seed index of the previous year, indicating increased winter survival, whereas the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) was not affected. Also the succeeding autumn population index of the bank vole was positively related to the bilberry index of the previous year, even when controlling for spring population levels. The wood mouse population responded to mast years of sessile oak (Quercus petraea), whereas seeds of Norway spruce (Picea abies) seemed to have some impact on both species. It is concluded that these rodents are mainly limited from below, but by different mechanisms for the granivorous and the herbivorous species.

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Nitrogen and Carbon Concentrations in the Stomach Content of Bank Voles (Myodes glareolus). Does Food Quality Determine Abundance?

Cited by 8 publications

References 21 publications

The pygmy field mouse – what does influence food quality?

The pygmy field mouse – what does influence food quality?

A new method for assessing food quality in common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations

Evidence for different bottom-up mechanisms in wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) and bank vole (Myodes glareolus) population fluctuations in Southern Norway

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