Strong "bottom-up" influences on small mammal populations: State-space model analyses from long-term studies.

ABSTRACT: "Bottom-up" influences, that is, masting, plus population density and climate, commonly influence woodland rodent demography. However, "top-down" influences (predation) also intervene. Here, we assess the impacts of masting, climate, and density on rodent populations placed in the context of what is known about "top-down" influences. To explain between-year variations in bank vole Myodes glareolus and wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus population demography, we applied a state-space model to 33 years of catch-mark-release live-trapping, winter temperature, and precise mast-collection data. Experimental mast additions aided interpretation. Rodent numbers in European ash Fraxinus excelsior woodland were estimated (May/June, November/December). December-March mean minimum dai

SUBMITTER: Flowerdew JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5355190 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature