Effect of landscape structure on Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) distribution and abundance at several space scales

This paper aims to answer the following question: are the fluctuations of abundance of Common Vole (Microtus arvalis) specific to different types of landscapes? The research was carried out in landscapes where grassland was dominant. The sampling method was based upon a partition in both landscape types and landscape units. Tracking of vole indices was used to evaluate their relative abundance. Six landscape transects were sampled during two successive years. Results show that population variation and diffusion of demographic states are closely related to landscape types. The possible causes of this are discussed. The landscape units can be used as global variables to assess outbreak risk and landscape design can be used to prevent them.

[1]  Jean Thioulouse,et al.  Statistical analysis and graphical display of multivariate data on the Macintosh , 1989, Comput. Appl. Biosci..

[2]  O. Liberg,et al.  Predation as a Regulating Factor on Small Rodent Populations in Southern Sweden , 1983 .

[3]  Arthur S. Lieberman,et al.  Landscape Ecology , 1994, Springer New York.

[4]  I. Hanski,et al.  Synchronous dynamics of Microtine rodent populations on Islands in Lake Inari in Northern Fennoscandia-Evidence for regulation by Mustelid predators , 1994 .

[5]  S. Erlinge,et al.  Influence of predation on rodent populations , 1977 .

[6]  A. Liro,et al.  The influence of landscape spatial structure on small mammal movements , 1993 .

[7]  J. Baudry.  Interactions between agricultural and ecological systems at the landscape level , 1989 .

[8]  L. Fahrig,et al.  Habitat Patch Connectivity and Population Survival , 1985 .

[9]  Ilkka Hanski,et al.  Specialist predators, generalist predators, and the microtine rodent cycle. , 1991 .

[10]  L. Rossi,et al.  Ecological distribution of bank voles and wood mice in disturbed habitats: preliminary results , 1992 .

[11]  M. Kozakiewicz.  Habitat isolation and ecological barriers - the effect on small mammal populations and communities , 1993 .

[12]  P. Giraudoux.  Utilisation de l'espace par les hôtes du Ténia multiloculaire (Echinococcus multilocularis): conséquences épidémiologiques , 1991 .

[13]  G. O. Batzli,et al.  The Population Ecology of Cycles in Small Mammals: Mathematical Theory and Biological Fact , 1982 .

[14]  C. Krebs,et al.  Population Cycles in Small Mammals , 1974 .

[15]  W. Z. Lidicker.  Solving the Enigma of Microtine “Cycles” , 1988 .

[16]  L. Hansson.  The domestic cat as a possible modifier of vole dynamics , 1988 .

[17]  M. H. Smith,et al.  Utilization of a habitat mosaic by cotton rats during a population decline , 1992, Landscape Ecology.

[18]  G. Merriam,et al.  Ecological Processes in the Time and Space of Farmland Mosaics , 1990 .

[19]  I. Hanski.  Populations of small mammals cycle—Unless they don't , 1987 .

[20]  J. Loman.  Small mammal and raptor densities in habitat islands; area effects in a south Swedish agricultural landscape , 1991, Landscape Ecology.

[21]  L. Hansson.  Predation in heterogeneous landscapes: how to evaluate total impact? , 1989 .

[22]  J. Baudry,et al.  Land use patterns and types of common vole (Microtus arvalis) population kinetics , 1992 .

[23]  Tarja Oksanen,et al.  How much do weasels shape microtine cycles in the northern Fennoscandian taiga , 1987 .

[24]  F. V. D. Zee,et al.  Effects of habitat fragmentation on the bank vole, Clethrionomys glareolus, in an agricultural landscape , 1992 .

[25]  Bruce T. Milne,et al.  Animal movements and population dynamics in heterogeneous landscapes , 1992, Landscape Ecology.