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Body size and habitat use of the common weasel Mustela nivalis vulgaris in Mediterranean farmlands colonised by common voles Microtus arvalis

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Abstract

Small mustelids such as weasels are highly specialized predators of small rodents. Their diminutive size allows hunting for prey underground, but also means that they are “bite-sized” predators, preyed upon by other larger predators. Habitat use by weasels is therefore expected to depend not only on prey abundance, but also on predation risk. We report here on the body size and habitat use of common weasels Mustela nivalis vulgaris captured in intensive farmlands of northwest Spain during 2009–2015. We show that weasels’ capture rate was higher in field margins than in other habitats (cereal and alfalfa fields, fallows) irrespective of season. All small mammals (common vole, wood mouse, Algerian mouse, and greater white-toothed shrew) were consistently more frequently captured in field margins than other habitats. Weasel capture rate in each habitat was proportional to that of prey in these (alfalfa > fallows > cereal), except for field margins, which were used more intensively than expected from prey capture rate. Weasel capture rate was 37% lower in areas provided with nest boxes to increase local raptor abundance, a reduction that occurred in all habitats and was significant when correcting for prey capture rate. Weasel habitat use reflected a trade-off between prey abundance (bottom-up control) and predation risk (top-down control), with a preferential use of field margins that offer not only more prey but also permanent vegetation cover and protection from avian predators throughout most of the annual crop cycles. Weasel and vole head width data show that voles are not safe underground from smaller female weasels and that burrow entrances were wide enough for weasels to escape underground from predators. In NW Spain, common voles are a main farmland pest causing significant impacts. We discuss the implications of current vole control measures for weasels in areas recurrently affected by vole outbreaks.

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Acknowledgments

We thank R. Rodríguez-Pastor, J. Romairone, S. Herrero Cófreces, E. Tedesco, L. Arroyo, D. Jareño, JL Guzmán, J. Caro and V. Lopez-Villar for their help with the fieldwork. The raptor nest-box supplementation project was promoted by J. Viñuela (IREC-CSIC), implemented by GREFA and partially funded by ECOCYCLES (BIODIVERSA 2008, Era-net European project, EUI2008-03641). JJLL, BA and FM held animal experimentation permits of level C for Spain. Capture permits were provided by the Consejería de Fomento y Medio Ambiente, Junta de Castilla y León. This work was funded through the projects ECOCYCLES (EUI2008-03641 and EUI2008-03658), NERC NE/ G002045/1 and ECOVOLE (CGL2012-35348; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades of Spain).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC, CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ciudad Real, Spain

    François Mougeot & Beatriz Arroyo

  2. School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

    Xavier Lambin

  3. Departamento de Ciencias Agroforestales, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenierías Agrarias, Universidad de Valladolid, Palencia, Spain

    Juan-José Luque-Larena

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  1. François Mougeot
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  2. Xavier Lambin
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  4. Juan-José Luque-Larena
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Correspondence to François Mougeot.

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Communicated by: Karol Zub

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Mougeot, F., Lambin, X., Arroyo, B. et al. Body size and habitat use of the common weasel Mustela nivalis vulgaris in Mediterranean farmlands colonised by common voles Microtus arvalis. Mamm Res 65, 75–84 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-019-00465-y

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