Reduced Body Mass in a Highly Insectivorous Mammal, the Garden Dormouse-Ecological Consequences of Insect Decline?

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity is decreasing worldwide, and early indicators are needed to identify endangered populations before they start to decline in abundance. In mammals, body mass (BM) is regarded as an indicator of fitness, and its loss is used as an early warning signal preceding population decline. The garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus, Gliridae, BM: 60-110 g) is a small mammalian hibernator that has disappeared from over 50% of its former range in the last decades. The aim of this study was to investigate whether garden dormice from a presumably thriving and stable population already show early warning signals, which may precede a population decline. We therefore conducted capture-mark-recapture studies during 2003-2005 (Period 1) and 2018-2021 (Period 2) in the Northern Black Forest, on

SUBMITTER: Erhardt S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12011555 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature