The Diversity of Small Mammals along a Large River Valley Revealed from Pellets of Tawny Owl Strix aluco
The Vistula River is one of the largest European semi-natural rivers of high ecological value that functions as an ecological corridor. To assess the structure of small mammal communities along the Vistula River, an analysis of the diet of an opportunistic predator, the tawny owl Strix aluco , was u...
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2023
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12081118 https://doaj.org/article/6cb879d7bea04ae3949aea8e4f7d4316 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6cb879d7bea04ae3949aea8e4f7d4316 2023-09-26T15:20:10+02:00 The Diversity of Small Mammals along a Large River Valley Revealed from Pellets of Tawny Owl Strix aluco Jerzy Romanowski Dorota Dudek-Godeau Grzegorz Lesiński 2023-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12081118 https://doaj.org/article/6cb879d7bea04ae3949aea8e4f7d4316 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/12/8/1118 https://doaj.org/toc/2079-7737 doi:10.3390/biology12081118 2079-7737 https://doaj.org/article/6cb879d7bea04ae3949aea8e4f7d4316 Biology, Vol 12, Iss 1118, p 1118 (2023) Mammalia riparian habitats ecological corridor landscape complexity Vistula River Strix aluco Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12081118 2023-08-27T00:36:04Z The Vistula River is one of the largest European semi-natural rivers of high ecological value that functions as an ecological corridor. To assess the structure of small mammal communities along the Vistula River, an analysis of the diet of an opportunistic predator, the tawny owl Strix aluco , was used. A total of 6355 individuals of 19 species were found, including 5 soricomorph species, 12 rodents, 1 carnivore, and 1 bat species. Tawny owls most frequently caught Apodemus agrarius , Clethrionomys glareolus , Apodemus flavicollis , and Microtus arvalis . Rodents dominated small mammal communities (90%), followed by soricomorphs (8%), and the share of Chiroptera was significant (2%). Using Ward’s method in cluster analysis, three clusters of sites with similar mammal communities were identified. The cluster that included 17 study sites with the dominance of agriculture habitats was inhabited by diverse mammal communities with a high number of species. In the cluster composed of three suburban forest sites, mammal communities had the lowest diversity, although the high species richness and the highest shares of the forest species ( A. flavicollis, C. glareolus, and Nyctalus noctula ). Mammal communities in the cluster were composed of three urban sites were dominated by A. agrarius and M. arvalis . The study indicates the high species richness of small mammals in floodplains of the Vistula River and the adjacent areas in central Poland. The floodplain offers suitable habitats for species associated with forests, water bodies, agricultural land, and developed areas. The data collected confirms earlier model predictions about the presence of well-connected local populations of forest mammals along the Vistula River. Article in Journal/Newspaper Microtus arvalis Nyctalus noctula Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Biology 12 8 1118 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Mammalia riparian habitats ecological corridor landscape complexity Vistula River Strix aluco Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
spellingShingle |
Mammalia riparian habitats ecological corridor landscape complexity Vistula River Strix aluco Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Jerzy Romanowski Dorota Dudek-Godeau Grzegorz Lesiński The Diversity of Small Mammals along a Large River Valley Revealed from Pellets of Tawny Owl Strix aluco |
topic_facet |
Mammalia riparian habitats ecological corridor landscape complexity Vistula River Strix aluco Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
The Vistula River is one of the largest European semi-natural rivers of high ecological value that functions as an ecological corridor. To assess the structure of small mammal communities along the Vistula River, an analysis of the diet of an opportunistic predator, the tawny owl Strix aluco , was used. A total of 6355 individuals of 19 species were found, including 5 soricomorph species, 12 rodents, 1 carnivore, and 1 bat species. Tawny owls most frequently caught Apodemus agrarius , Clethrionomys glareolus , Apodemus flavicollis , and Microtus arvalis . Rodents dominated small mammal communities (90%), followed by soricomorphs (8%), and the share of Chiroptera was significant (2%). Using Ward’s method in cluster analysis, three clusters of sites with similar mammal communities were identified. The cluster that included 17 study sites with the dominance of agriculture habitats was inhabited by diverse mammal communities with a high number of species. In the cluster composed of three suburban forest sites, mammal communities had the lowest diversity, although the high species richness and the highest shares of the forest species ( A. flavicollis, C. glareolus, and Nyctalus noctula ). Mammal communities in the cluster were composed of three urban sites were dominated by A. agrarius and M. arvalis . The study indicates the high species richness of small mammals in floodplains of the Vistula River and the adjacent areas in central Poland. The floodplain offers suitable habitats for species associated with forests, water bodies, agricultural land, and developed areas. The data collected confirms earlier model predictions about the presence of well-connected local populations of forest mammals along the Vistula River. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jerzy Romanowski Dorota Dudek-Godeau Grzegorz Lesiński |
author_facet |
Jerzy Romanowski Dorota Dudek-Godeau Grzegorz Lesiński |
author_sort |
Jerzy Romanowski |
title |
The Diversity of Small Mammals along a Large River Valley Revealed from Pellets of Tawny Owl Strix aluco |
title_short |
The Diversity of Small Mammals along a Large River Valley Revealed from Pellets of Tawny Owl Strix aluco |
title_full |
The Diversity of Small Mammals along a Large River Valley Revealed from Pellets of Tawny Owl Strix aluco |
title_fullStr |
The Diversity of Small Mammals along a Large River Valley Revealed from Pellets of Tawny Owl Strix aluco |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Diversity of Small Mammals along a Large River Valley Revealed from Pellets of Tawny Owl Strix aluco |
title_sort |
diversity of small mammals along a large river valley revealed from pellets of tawny owl strix aluco |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12081118 https://doaj.org/article/6cb879d7bea04ae3949aea8e4f7d4316 |
genre |
Microtus arvalis Nyctalus noctula |
genre_facet |
Microtus arvalis Nyctalus noctula |
op_source |
Biology, Vol 12, Iss 1118, p 1118 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/12/8/1118 https://doaj.org/toc/2079-7737 doi:10.3390/biology12081118 2079-7737 https://doaj.org/article/6cb879d7bea04ae3949aea8e4f7d4316 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12081118 |
container_title |
Biology |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1118 |
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1778143743907463168 |