Responses of small mammals to habitat characteristics in Southern Carpathian forests.

ABSTRACT: Compared to Northern Carpathians, the small mammal fauna of Southern Carpathian forests is poorly known, with no data on habitat use; our study seeks to fill this gap. To this end, we conducted a survey in the Southern Carpathians for five years, assessing habitat use by small mammals in forests along an elevational gradient. Trapping was done using live traps set in transects at elevations between 820 and 2040 m. For each transect we evaluated variables related to vegetation structure, habitat complexity, and geographical location. We considered abundance, species composition and species richness as response variables. The rodents Apodemus flavicollis and Myodes glareolus and the shrew Sorex araneus were common and dominant. Their abundance were positively correlated with tree cover, the

SUBMITTER: Benedek AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8187625 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature