Wood mouse population dynamics: Interplay among seed abundance seasonality, shrub cover and wild boar interference

Sunyer, Pau; Muñoz, Alberto; Mazerolle, Marc J.; Bonal, Raúl; Espelta, Josep María

doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2016.03.001

Cited by 34 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…There is increasing evidence supporting that differences among habitats, due to variation in habitat quality, play an essential role in determining individuals' distribution as well as regulating temporal and spatial population dynamics (Pulliam & Danielson 1991;Lin & Batzli 2001;Jaquiéry et al 2008;Janova et al 2011;. Equally, variation in habitat due to, for example, climatic or seasonal changes also impacts food availability and population densities due to shifts in environmental features (Fernández et al 1996;Ouin et al 2000;Díaz et al 2010;Sunyer et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stressful living in lower‐quality habitats? Body mass, feeding behavior and physiological stress levels in wild wood mouse populations

Navarro-Castilla

Barja

2019

Integrative Zoology

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Wild populations are continuously subjected to changes in environmental factors that pose different challenges. Body condition and hormones have been commonly used as health indicators due to their potential correlation with fitness. In the present study, we analyzed whether habitats of different quality, influenced body mass, food intake and physiological stress levels in wild wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). Field work was seasonally carried out in Holm oak woods and pine forests in central Spain. 93 wood mice from 4 different populations (2 per habitat type) were live-trapped. From each captured individual we noted body mass and food intake, measured as the amount of bait remaining in each trap. The physiological stress levels were measured non-invasively in collected fresh faeces by quantifying faecal corticosterone metabolites (FCM) with a 5α-pregnane-3ß,11ß, 21-triol-20-one enzyme immunoassay. Wood mice abundances decreased from spring to summer, were higher in Holm oak woods than in pine forests and also resulted in different age-class distribution between both habitats. Individuals inhabiting pine forests showed a lower body mass and increased food intake probably because the comparatively lower food quality and availability in this habitat. Further, these individuals showed increased physiological stress levels, likely due to the lower quality habitat regarding both food and vegetation cover availability. Overall, besides affecting local wood mouse abundance, our study underscores the effect of habitat quality on body mass, food intake and the endocrine stress response. Considering wood mouse pivotal position in ecosystems, these results could help in the understanding of environmental traits hampering viability of wild populations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stressful living in lower‐quality habitats? Body mass, feeding behavior and physiological stress levels in wild wood mouse populations

Navarro-Castilla

Barja

2019

Integrative Zoology

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“…Temperature and precipitation may certainly have an effect on predation extent by determining food resource (crops) variability, but they may also directly influence the population size or the performance of seed consumers. For example, meteorological conditions are known to directly affect the population size and activity of rodents (e.g., squirrels in Kneip et al 2011, wood mice in Wr obel and Bogdziewicz 2015, Sunyer et al 2016) and ungulates (Servanty et al 2009). Similarly, rainfall amount and its seasonal distribution may influence oviposition by granivorous insects (Bonal et al 2010) by affecting the number of adults emerging from the soil (Schraer et al 1998), or even altering their sex ratio (Bonal et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond predator satiation: Masting but also the effects of rainfall stochasticity on weevils drive acorn predation

et al. 2017

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Escaping seed predation is a classic “economy of scale” hypotheses (predator satiation hypothesis, Psh) to explain the selection for the synchronous production of massive and nil seed crops (masting) in plants. The Psh postulates that predator satiation occurs through a combination of (1) “functional satiation,” as not all seeds can be consumed during a massive crop, and (2) “numerical satiation,” as predator populations collapse during poor crop years. Many studies advocate for the Psh, but few have investigated the importance of masting compared to other factors for the control of predation extent. Namely, environmental cues prompting masting could also determine predator's success and, ultimately, influence directly and independently seed predation intensity. We explored this question in Mediterranean oaks, as they exhibit strong masting behavior; acorns are heavily predated upon by weevils; and rainfall stochasticity drives masting and the emergence of adult weevils from the soil. Results of two mid‐term studies (4 and 11 yr) showed that acorn production and predation were highly variable across years, while the abundance of adult weevils was positively related to autumn rainfall and to the number of infested acorns the previous years. Ultimately, acorn predation was negatively influenced by inter‐annual fluctuation of seed production (masting) yet, mainly and positively, prompted by autumn rainfall and acorn crop size (only in one site). Our results highlight the relevance of masting to reduce seed predation. Yet evidences that rainfall stochasticity directly determines the success of weevils, and it independently influences seed predation extent, indicate that environmental cues prompting masting may also fine‐tune the output of this reproductive behavior. Additionally, local differences suggest that the relevance of masting may change with tree characteristics (low vs. high seed production) and landscape structure (isolated vs. dense forests). We also discuss what can be the effects of increasing drought in Mediterranean areas for this antagonistic interaction, triggered by rainfall.

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“…After the supply of acorns had been exhausted, rodent density was too high to survive on the naturally available food in the environment. This resulted in either emigration or increased rodent mortality due to starvation (Stradiotto et al 2009, Sunyer et al 2016). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The addition of acorns may also have increased rodent activity (Sunyer et al 2016), which may in turn have increased their exposure to infected ticks. A higher rodent infection rate, caused by a higher rodent density, could result in an higher NIP one year later.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Duijvendijk

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Wood mouse population dynamics: Interplay among seed abundance seasonality, shrub cover and wild boar interference

Cited by 34 publications

References 46 publications

Stressful living in lower‐quality habitats? Body mass, feeding behavior and physiological stress levels in wild wood mouse populations

Stressful living in lower‐quality habitats? Body mass, feeding behavior and physiological stress levels in wild wood mouse populations

Beyond predator satiation: Masting but also the effects of rainfall stochasticity on weevils drive acorn predation

The ecology of Lyme borreliosis risk : interactions between lxodes ricinus, rodents and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato

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