DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT ASSOCIATION OF FIELD MOUSE (APODEMUS AGRARIUS PALLAS, 1771) IN NATIONAL PARK "STRANDJA"

SUMMARY. The structure of the landscape and its heterogenety, the species’ specific nutrituion, reproductivity, and adaptations abilities determine the species spatial distribution. For evaluating the ecological characteristics and for determining the common traits in the distribution and habitat preferences of the field mouse in NP „Strandja“, the suggested by Pesenko(1982) indexes were used: participation of the separate habitats in the distribution of the species’ populations, relative habitat associationt, and degree of relative attachment to a certain habitat. The distribution of the field mouse specimens in the investigated biotopes is uneven. The examination of the field mouse’s distribution shows its presence in two of the four investigated habitats in NP „Strandja“: moist habitats and mixed forests with artificial coniferous plantations. Therefore, a direct casual dependence between the regime of humidity and the habitat association of the species is present. The high humidity creates pleasant conditions for the development of various vegetation communities, which allow for high productivity of the moist biotopes and good food resources for the species.