Abundance and Population Structure of Small Rodents in Fruit and Berry Farms
Fruit and berry farms are anthropogenic habitats still inhabited by small mammals, though their presence is constantly affected by agricultural activities. Based on trapping data from 2018–2022, we analyzed the abundance and population structure of the dominant rodent species to assess changes in ge...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:9959164 2023-05-15T15:56:35+02:00 Abundance and Population Structure of Small Rodents in Fruit and Berry Farms Balčiauskas, Linas Stirkė, Vitalijus Balčiauskienė, Laima 2023-01-29 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9959164/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36836730 https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020375 en eng MDPI http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9959164/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36836730 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life13020375 © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). CC-BY Life (Basel) Article Text 2023 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020375 2023-03-05T01:55:01Z Fruit and berry farms are anthropogenic habitats still inhabited by small mammals, though their presence is constantly affected by agricultural activities. Based on trapping data from 2018–2022, we analyzed the abundance and population structure of the dominant rodent species to assess changes in gender and age ratios by year and habitat, the annual and seasonal dynamics of relative abundance, and the relationship between breeding parameters and abundance. The relative abundance of the dominant species, common vole, yellow-necked mouse, striped field mouse, and bank vole, and their proportion in the investigated community varied according to year, season, and habitat. No outbreaks were recorded during the study period. The abundance of the striped field mouse exhibited a downward trend independently of habitat, while the abundance and proportions of the other three species were habitat-dependent. There was no consistent pattern between litter size and relative abundance in the same or following years. Given the ongoing conflict between biodiversity conservation in Europe and agriculture, the results contribute to a better understanding of the functioning and viability of rodent populations in fruit farms and may be used in agroecology and sustainable farming. Text Common vole PubMed Central (PMC) Life 13 2 375 |
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Article Balčiauskas, Linas Stirkė, Vitalijus Balčiauskienė, Laima Abundance and Population Structure of Small Rodents in Fruit and Berry Farms |
topic_facet |
Article |
description |
Fruit and berry farms are anthropogenic habitats still inhabited by small mammals, though their presence is constantly affected by agricultural activities. Based on trapping data from 2018–2022, we analyzed the abundance and population structure of the dominant rodent species to assess changes in gender and age ratios by year and habitat, the annual and seasonal dynamics of relative abundance, and the relationship between breeding parameters and abundance. The relative abundance of the dominant species, common vole, yellow-necked mouse, striped field mouse, and bank vole, and their proportion in the investigated community varied according to year, season, and habitat. No outbreaks were recorded during the study period. The abundance of the striped field mouse exhibited a downward trend independently of habitat, while the abundance and proportions of the other three species were habitat-dependent. There was no consistent pattern between litter size and relative abundance in the same or following years. Given the ongoing conflict between biodiversity conservation in Europe and agriculture, the results contribute to a better understanding of the functioning and viability of rodent populations in fruit farms and may be used in agroecology and sustainable farming. |
format |
Text |
author |
Balčiauskas, Linas Stirkė, Vitalijus Balčiauskienė, Laima |
author_facet |
Balčiauskas, Linas Stirkė, Vitalijus Balčiauskienė, Laima |
author_sort |
Balčiauskas, Linas |
title |
Abundance and Population Structure of Small Rodents in Fruit and Berry Farms |
title_short |
Abundance and Population Structure of Small Rodents in Fruit and Berry Farms |
title_full |
Abundance and Population Structure of Small Rodents in Fruit and Berry Farms |
title_fullStr |
Abundance and Population Structure of Small Rodents in Fruit and Berry Farms |
title_full_unstemmed |
Abundance and Population Structure of Small Rodents in Fruit and Berry Farms |
title_sort |
abundance and population structure of small rodents in fruit and berry farms |
publisher |
MDPI |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9959164/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36836730 https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020375 |
genre |
Common vole |
genre_facet |
Common vole |
op_source |
Life (Basel) |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9959164/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36836730 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life13020375 |
op_rights |
© 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
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CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020375 |
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Life |
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13 |
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2 |
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375 |
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