Vole population dynamics: experiments on predation
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منابع مشابه
Species-specific limitation of vole population growth by least weasel predation: facilitation of coexistence?
Interspecific competition is usually understood as different species competing directly with each other for limited resources. However, predators can alter such competitive interactions substantially. Predation can promote the coexistence of species in a situation where it would otherwise be impossible, for example if a tradeoff between the competitive abilities and predation resistance of the ...
متن کاملPredation rate, prey preference and predator switching: experiments on voles and weasels
We studied the predation rate and prey selection of the least weasel (Mustela ni alis ni alis) on its two most common prey species in boreal environments, the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) and the field vole (Microtus agrestis), in large outdoor enclosures. We also studied the response of weasels to odours of the two species in the laboratory. The enclosure experiment was conducted using ...
متن کاملPopulation cycles of small rodents are caused by specialist predators: or are they?
Predation by specialist mammalian predators has been hypothesized to be the primary cause of multi-annual density fluctuations (‘population cycles’) in voles. Using a series of replicated field experiments, Isla Graham and Xavier Lambin have now shown that specialist mammalian predators are neither necessary nor sufficient to drive field vole Microtus agrestis population cycles. These findings ...
متن کاملIndirect effects of least weasel presence on fi eld vole behaviour and demography : a fi eld experiment
Predation by small mustelids is widely considered to be the most likely mechanism to maintain multiannual fl uctuations of vole populations in Fennoscandia. Apart from the direct effect of predation, small mustelids have been suggested to have indirect effects on vole population dynamics. We studied in a fi eld experiment the indirect effects of the presence of the least weasel (Mustela nivalis...
متن کاملPopulation dynamics of microtine rodents: an experimental test of the predation hypothesis
One of the most popular hypotheses to explain the 3–5 year vole cycle in Fennoscandia is the predation hypothesis, which emphasises the role of specialist predators, especially small mustelids, in driving the microtine rodent cycle. I have tested this hypothesis in a field experiment with a focus on the interaction between the least weasel (Mustela ni alis ni alis L.) and the field vole (Microt...
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