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Influence of landscape heterogeneity and meteorological features on small mammal abundance and richness in a coastal wetland system, NW Portugal

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Abstract

The abundance and distribution of small mammals are important factors for ecosystem structure and functioning, often affected by spatial heterogeneity and seasonal fluctuations. In this study, we tested the influence of habitat type, landscape composition and meteorological conditions on small mammal abundance and richness in the heterogeneous coastal wetland landscape of Baixo Vouga Lagunar (BVL), NW Portugal. Seven different habitats (Bocage, a mosaic composed of small agricultural and pasture fields separated by live fences of autochthonous vegetation, eucalyptus stands, maize fields, marshlands, reed beds, rice fields and rushes) were sampled every 2 months, between November 2011 and October 2012, resulting in a trapping effort of 18,665 trap-nights. We recorded a total of 1961 captures, including 566 recaptures, of which 1714 (87.4 %) were rodents and 247 (12.6 %) were shrews. Spatially, reed beds presented the highest values of small mammal diversity and favoured this fauna abundance, as well as rushes and marshlands. In contrast, Bocage and eucalyptus stands did not favour most of the species abundance and richness; eucalyptus stands were the habitat with the lowest diversity. Overall, cumulative precipitation favoured the abundance of most species, determining small mammal seasonal fluctuations. At a fine scale, landscape heterogeneity did not seem to influence small mammal abundance and richness. At a broader scale, the landscape matrix appeared to favour small mammal richness and diversity, because species have heterogeneous distribution throughout the patchy landscape. Conservation and management efforts should therefore be focused on wetland natural habitats, considering the remaining habitat types that compose the matrix.

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted in the framework of a research project under an agreement between the Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro (DBIO), and the Câmara Municipal de Estarreja (CME). Special thanks to Norberto Monteiro (CME) for the help with fieldwork and to colleagues of the Wildlife Research Unit (DBIO) for their help in planning and executing the fieldwork. Thanks are also due to CUF (Companhia União Fabril) and CESAM (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies) for providing weather data from their respective meteorological stations. This work was co-supported by the European Funds through COMPETE and the National Funds through the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) within project PEst-C/MAR/LA0017/2013, and by the Observatoire Hommes-Millieus (OHM) Estarreja/CNRS. JP Ferreira had support from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BPD/72193/2010). We are thankful to the anonymous referee who helped us improving the manuscript. All applicable international, national and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed (ICNF, Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas permit no. 387/2011/CAPT and no. 96/2012/CAPT).

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  1. Departamento de Biologia & CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal

    Sara F. Marques, Rita G. Rocha, Eduardo S. Mendes, Carlos Fonseca & Joaquim P. Ferreira

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  1. Sara F. Marques
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Correspondence to Sara F. Marques.

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ESM 1

Results from the Kruskal-Wallis test performed on small mammal abundance between the three replicates of each habitat for each species (df=2). Significance: *** p<0.001; ** p<0.01; * p<0.05 (PDF 18.5 KB)

ESM 2

Results from the Kruskal-Wallis test performed on small mammal abundance between habitat types for each species (df=1). NA = not applicable. Significance: *** p<0.001; ** p<0.01; * p<0.05 (PDF 63.6 KB)

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Marques, S.F., Rocha, R.G., Mendes, E.S. et al. Influence of landscape heterogeneity and meteorological features on small mammal abundance and richness in a coastal wetland system, NW Portugal. Eur J Wildl Res 61, 749–761 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-015-0952-2

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