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Main determinants of rodent population fluctuations in managed Central European temperate lowland forests

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Abstract

Whilst studies have shown that climatic (North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)) and biotic (acorn production) factors influence rodent populations, mechanisms driving temporal and spatial fluctuation of rodent populations are understudied. This study evaluates relationships between the influence of environmental factors (biotic and abiotic) and phenotypic characteristics across two rodent feeding guilds (granivorous and non-granivorous species) represented by four species of rodents in Central Europe. We hypothesise that the relationship between acorn density and population growth rate are indirectly affected by climatic factors (winter NAO) and that these effects differ amongst herbivorous and granivorous species. In addition, we also tested whether effects of weather and competition on individual phenotype characteristic vary amongst mast and non-mast years. Rodent populations were estimated by catching individuals in snap traps during the growing season (from March to November) over a period of 9 years at three sites. The results of the generalised linear model provide evidence that acorn production best explained the population fluctuations. We therefore conclude that the between-year population fluctuations in rodent abundance were governed by density dependence and initiated primarily by acorn mast years. Auto-regressive models also revealed direct density dependence in combination with the direct effects of mast years. Therefore, strong intraspecific competition for food is likely in years following mast years. Our results also showed that abundance of non-granivorous species is mainly influenced by local weather conditions which could regulate food quality and abundance. On the other hand, population dynamics of granivorous species are caused directly by acorn density and indirectly by climatic condition influencing acorn production.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Grant Nos. 14-36098G from the GA CR and LO1415 from the MSMT. The work complies with Council Directive 86/609/EEC on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. We also thank Vera Pfeiffer who assisted with corrections related to the use of the English language.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Fisheries, Hydrobiology and Apiculture, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic

    Jan Šipoš & Josef Suchomel

  2. Institute of Forest Ecology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 61300, Brno, Czech Republic

    Luboš Purchart

  3. Global Change Research Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Bělidla 986/4a, 60300, Brno, Czech Republic

    Pavel Kindlmann

  4. Institute for Environmental Studies, Charles University, Benátská 2, 128 01, Prague, Czech Republic

    Pavel Kindlmann

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  1. Jan Šipoš
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Correspondence to Jan Šipoš.

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Communicated by: Emerson M. Vieira

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Šipoš, J., Suchomel, J., Purchart, L. et al. Main determinants of rodent population fluctuations in managed Central European temperate lowland forests. Mamm Res 62, 283–295 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-017-0316-2

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