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Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals and Their Predators
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Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals and Their Predators

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Diversity and Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (14 April 2023) | Viewed by 20766

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ignasi Torre

E-Mail Website
Chief Guest Editor
Natural Sciences Museum of Granollers, 08402 Granollers, Spain
Interests: small mammals; population trends; habitat selection; landscape change; climate change; demography; predators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Linas Balčiauskas

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Laboratory of Mammalian Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: hoofed, semi-aquatic, carnivore and small mammal ecology; threatened and invasive mammal species; large carnivores; spatial distribution; population management and computer modeling; biodiversity and ecological diversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Small mammals (rodents and insectivores) represent a numerous and eclectic group of species of different phylogenetic origin that share similar biological/ecological characteristics derived from their small size. This group is considered to play a key functional role in ecosystems worldwide, providing several benefits, such as vegetation and soil regeneration (as seed dispersers and burrowers), and being at the bottom of food webs, thus playing a central role as both predators of invertebrates and prey of medium-sized carnivores and raptors. On the other hand, they frequently are regarded as pests, especially in anthropogenic ecosystems.

Indeed, small mammals show complex and interactive top-down and bottom-up regulation of numbers of other relevant components of their communities. Being short-lived, in addition to having fast generation times and demographic responses to environmental factors, small mammals are ideal subjects to study population dynamics in time and space as compared to long-lived mammal species. In the light of environmental change because of human activities, landscapes and climate are suffering from alterations producing range shifts and restructuration of small-mammal assemblages—now dominated by opportunistic species with poor conservation value and limited functions, leading to new management strategies for the conservation of ecosystems.

This Special Issue invites research papers on small-mammal breeding, abundance and dynamics based on time series recorded in either natural or human-altered landscapes at different spatial scales. Dynamics of predator–prey systems, from the point of view of small mammals playing the role of predators and/or prey, are especially welcome. Our scope also includes predator–small-mammal interactions and predators’ responses both numerically and functionally to population dynamics of small-mammal prey, as well as the role of small mammals as regulators of invertebrate pests. Manuscripts analyzing the influence of environmental change (processes of forest fragmentation, land abandonment, wildfires, successional stages, climate change, etc.) as well as the biotic/abiotic properties and functions of landscapes on population/meta-population dynamics (changes in species abundance, demography, community composition, etc.) with either theoretical or empirical perspectives are welcome.

Dr. Ignasi Torre
Dr. Linas Balčiauskas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • small mammals
  • population dynamics
  • landscapes and habitats
  • predators
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

5 pages, 174 KiB  
Editorial
The Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals and Their Predators: An Editorial
by Ignasi Torre and Linas Balčiauskas
Life 2024, 14(1), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/life14010041 - 26 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1282
Abstract
Small mammals (rodents and insectivores) represent an eclectic group of numerous species of different phylogenetic origins that share similar biological/ecological characteristics derived from their small size [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals and Their Predators)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

20 pages, 3202 KiB  
Article
Local Effects of Nest-Boxes for Avian Predators over Common Vole Abundance during a Mid-Density Outbreak
by Daniel Jareño, Alfonso Paz Luna and Javier Viñuela
Life 2023, 13(10), 1963; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13101963 - 26 Sep 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1664
Abstract
At the end of the 20th century, the common vole (Microtus arvalis) colonized the practical totality of agricultural ecosystems in the northern sub-plateau of the Iberian Peninsula. To prevent crop damage, chemical control campaigns using anticoagulant rodenticides have been employed. This [...] Read more.
At the end of the 20th century, the common vole (Microtus arvalis) colonized the practical totality of agricultural ecosystems in the northern sub-plateau of the Iberian Peninsula. To prevent crop damage, chemical control campaigns using anticoagulant rodenticides have been employed. This approach has a high environmental impact, and it has been banned in most countries in the European Union, including Spain. It is therefore essential to analyze alternative methods with lower environmental impacts. Here we explored the efficacy of biological control by avian predators to reduce vole abundance by providing nest-boxes in croplands. We used an indirect index based on the presence/absence of vole activity signs to measure the effect of nest-boxes on common vole abundance. We found that vole abundance was significantly lower near occupied nest-boxes at distances less than 180 m, where vole abundance increases progressively with increasing distance to the nearest nest-box. We also observed that the predatory pressure negatively affects the vole abundance at the end of the breeding period, considering the total number of fledglings. However, the effect of nest-boxes was highly variable depending on the study area and more limited in alfalfa fields, the optimal habitat for voles in agrarian ecosystems. Thus, nest-box supplementation would be a feasible measure for the biological control of the common vole in Mediterranean ecosystems, but it needs improvements for vole control in alfalfa fields within an integrated pest control program. We provide several recommendations to improve the performance of biological control in alfalfa fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals and Their Predators)
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20 pages, 2780 KiB  
Article
European Rabbit Invasion in a Semi-Arid Ecosystem of Chile: How Relevant Is Its Role in Food Webs?
by Patricia Gübelin, Jennifer Paola Correa-Cuadros, María Isidora Ávila-Thieme, Gabriela Flores-Benner, Melanie Duclos, Mauricio Lima and Fabián M. Jaksic
Life 2023, 13(4), 916; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13040916 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3110
Abstract
The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is one of the main invasive species in Chile, where it became naturalized ca. 150 years ago. Their high reproductive capacity, lack of specialist predators, and great adaptability favored the settlement of rabbits in diverse mainland [...] Read more.
The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is one of the main invasive species in Chile, where it became naturalized ca. 150 years ago. Their high reproductive capacity, lack of specialist predators, and great adaptability favored the settlement of rabbits in diverse mainland and island ecosystems of the country. Recently, rabbits have become central players in semi-arid ecosystems, such as those represented in Las Chinchillas National Reserve in north-central Chile. We undertook to analyze the place and role of rabbits in the food web of that Reserve, based on a bibliographic review and long-term annual data gathered from 1987 until 2022 (36 years). Results showed that the network comprised 77 species, where 69% were primary producers (plants), 18% were mid-level consumers (herbivores), and 13% were top-level consumers (predators). The most connected species in the food web was the rabbit, which positively or negatively affected the species interacting with it. Predators such as Galictis cuja, Geranoaetus polyosoma, Leopardus colocolo, and Puma concolor, and the scavenger Vultur gryphus, could be negatively affected by an eventual decrease (natural or human-caused) in the rabbit population of the Reserve. To the contrary, primary producers such as Oxalis perdicaria, Plantago hispidula, Schizanthus parvulus, Senna cumminggi, and Tropaeolum azureum could be positively affected by an increase in their biomass in response to a decrease in rabbits, favoring native rodents. We consider that analyzing the rabbit-centered food web and its impacts on native interacting species allows a better understanding of the relevance of invasive species in the local community, providing conceptual tools for rabbit management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals and Their Predators)
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28 pages, 4462 KiB  
Article
Numerical Response of Owls to the Dampening of Small Mammal Population Cycles in Latvia
by Andris Avotins, Andris Avotins, Sr., Viesturs Ķerus and Ainars Aunins
Life 2023, 13(2), 572; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13020572 - 17 Feb 2023
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2199
Abstract
Strong numerical and functional responses of owls to voles in cyclic environments are well known. However, there is insufficient knowledge from the boreonemoral region in particular, with depleted populations of small mammals. In this study, we describe the dynamics of the small mammal [...] Read more.
Strong numerical and functional responses of owls to voles in cyclic environments are well known. However, there is insufficient knowledge from the boreonemoral region in particular, with depleted populations of small mammals. In this study, we describe the dynamics of the small mammal population in Latvia from 1991 to 2016 and link them to owl population characteristics. We used food niche breadth, number of fledglings, and population trends to lay out the numerical response of six owl species to dampened small mammal population cycles. We found temporarily increasing food niche breadth in tawny and Ural owls. There were no other responses in the tawny owl, whereas the breeding performance of three forest specialist species—pygmy, Tengmalm’s, and Ural owls—corresponded to the vole crash years in Fennoscandia. Moreover, the populations of forest specialist owls decreased, and the change in the Ural owl population can be attributed to the depletion of small mammal populations. We found evidence of a carry-over effect in the eagle owl arising from a strong correlation of declining breeding performance with the small mammal abundance indices in the previous autumn. We conclude that dampening of the small mammal population cycles is an important covariate of the likely effects of habitat destruction that needs to be investigated further, with stronger responses in more specialized (to prey or habitat) species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals and Their Predators)
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16 pages, 2311 KiB  
Article
Distribution of Four Vole Species through the Barn Owl Tyto alba Diet Spectrum: Pattern Responses to Environmental Gradients in Intensive Agroecosystems of Central Greece
by Vasileios Bontzorlos, Konstantinos Vlachopoulos and Anastasios Xenos
Life 2023, 13(1), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13010105 - 30 Dec 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2146
Abstract
Voles are the most common vertebrate pests in European agriculture. Identifying their distribution and abundance patterns provides valuable information for future management. Barn Owl diet analysis is one of the optimum methods used to record small mammal distribution patterns on large spatial scales. [...] Read more.
Voles are the most common vertebrate pests in European agriculture. Identifying their distribution and abundance patterns provides valuable information for future management. Barn Owl diet analysis is one of the optimum methods used to record small mammal distribution patterns on large spatial scales. From 2003 to 2005, a total of 10,065 Barn Owl pellets were collected and analyzed from 31 breeding sites in the largest agroecosystem in Greece, the Thessaly plains. A total of 29,061 prey items were identified, offering deep insight into small mammal distribution, specifically voles. Four discrete vole species (Harting’s vole Microtus hartingi, East European vole Microtus levis, Thomas’s pine vole Microtus thomasi, and Grey dwarf hamster Cricetulus migratorius) comprised 40.5% (11,770 vole prey items) of the total Barn Owl prey intake. The presence and abundance of the voles varied according to underlying environmental gradients, with soil texture and type playing a major role. M. levis showed no significant attachments to gradients, other than a mild increase in Mollisol soils. It was syntopic in all sites with M. hartingi, which was the dominant and most abundant small mammal species, preferring non-arable cultivated land, natural grasslands, set-aside fields, and fallow land. M. thomasi was strictly present in western Thessaly and strongly associated with a sandy-clay soil texture and Alfisol soils. C. migratorius was the least represented vole (162 items), exclusively present in eastern Thessaly and demonstrating a stronger association with cereals, Mollisol soils, and an argillaceous-clay soil texture. This is the first study in Greece at such a large spatial scale, offering insights for pest rodents’ distribution in intensive agroecosystems and their response to environmental gradients including soil parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals and Their Predators)
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Review

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31 pages, 2222 KiB  
Review
Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals in New Zealand: Sequential Invasions into an Island Ecosystem Like No Other
by Carolyn King
Life 2023, 13(1), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13010156 - 5 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 8139
Abstract
New Zealand had no people or four-footed mammals of any size until it was colonised by Polynesian voyagers and Pacific rats in c. 1280 AD. Between 1769 and 1920 AD, Europeans brought three more species of commensal rats and mice, and three predatory [...] Read more.
New Zealand had no people or four-footed mammals of any size until it was colonised by Polynesian voyagers and Pacific rats in c. 1280 AD. Between 1769 and 1920 AD, Europeans brought three more species of commensal rats and mice, and three predatory mustelids, plus rabbits, house cats hedgehogs and Australian brushtail possums. All have in turn invaded the whole country and many offshore islands in huge abundance, at least initially. Three species are now reduced to remnant populations, but the other eight remain widely distributed. They comprise an artificial but interacting and fully functional bottom-up predator-prey system, responding at all levels to interspecific competition, habitat quality and periodic resource pulsing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Abundance and Dynamics of Small Mammals and Their Predators)
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