Landscape and habitat dependence in cyclic and semi‐cyclic small rodents

• Published in: Ecography
• Main Author: Hansson, Lennart
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1989
• Subjects: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1989.tb00909.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1600-0587.1989.tb00909.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1989.tb00909.x

Habitat dependence and foraging for bark of semi‐cyclic and cyclic voles were examined on clearcuts in central and northern Sweden. Both populations showed inconsistent and weak relationships to habitat variables. Population dynamics of the northern cyclic population was more clearly related to landscape composition. Snow depth explained a large proportion of the total variation between clearcuts when the populations were pooled. Snow and landscape effects agree with recent hypotheses that 3–4 yr cyclic densities are related to predator impact. The negligible effects of other habitat variables may be due to generalized habitat selection by northern rodents and the historical growth of populations in different macrohabitats since population crashes. The relations between density and bark consumption differed between the two regions, indicating a threshold density for more intense bark use. From an applied point of view, areas with seedling damage can be predicted at regional rather than at local scales.