Garden dormouse (<i>Eliomys quercinus</i>) nest site selection in an alpine habitat

Bertolino, Sandro; Montezemolo, Nicola Cordero di

doi:10.1080/08927014.2007.9522580

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In most cases, nest site selection by mammals has been studied using comparisons of characteristics of nest sites with randomly selected sites or sites not used by the animals (e.g., Bertolino and Cordero di Montezemolo 2007;Gregory et al 2010;Cudworth and Koprowski 2011). At our study site, only 10 of the 272 nestboxes were not used at all by M. avellanarius in the period 2007 to 2011.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Nest site selection by the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius: is safety more important than food?

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Vegetation parameters determining nest site selection by the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius were studied in a typical habitat where dormice are relatively common in Lithuania, the northern periphery of its distributional range. Results: Dormice preferred nest sites with a better-developed understory, particularly with a good cover of hazel shrubs taller than 4 m and plentiful bird cherry trees, a high diversity of woody plant species in the understory and overstory, and better connectivity of the nest tree with its surroundings. They avoided sites with a high number of mature Norway spruce trees in the canopy and a high density of young trees. In a stepwise multiple regression analysis, three vegetation parameters of the number of shrub species, the cover of hazel shrubs, and the number of Norway spruce trees in the canopy determined over 85% of the index of nestbox use by M. avellanarius. The number of shrub species in the surroundings of the nest site had the highest impact of all. Nest sites used by dormice for breeding were distinguished by a better-developed understory, particularly by a significantly higher number of bird cherry trees and a lower number of Norway spruce trees in the canopy, as well as a higher diversity of plants in the understory and overstory. Conclusions: Selection of nest sites by M. avellanarius is a combination of safety from predators and the presence of food. A well-developed inter-connected understory ensures the safety of nest sites from predators, and the diversity of understory and overstory species guarantees continuity of the food supply in the vicinity of nest sites.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This method was adopted by other authors for studies of nest site selection and microhabitat use in different dormouse species (Bertolino 2007;Bertolino and Cordero di Montezemolo 2007;Panchetti et al 2007). Four rectangular transects (each 10 × 25 m) starting at the nestbox tree and representing nest site surroundings were selected.…”

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest site selection by the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius: is safety more important than food?

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus is a hibernating medium size rodent endemic to Europe where it shows a surprising adaptability to different environmental conditions, ranging from cold and wet forests to warm and dry plains and from Mediterranean habitats up to the tree line in the Alps (Bertolino et al, 2008(Bertolino et al, , 2014Moreno, 2002;Storch, 1978a). The limited information available on its nesting behaviour describes the species as a solitary nester, though associations between at least two adults have been documented occasionally in cold habitats (Baudoin, 1980;Bertolino and Cordero di Montezemolo 2007). The aim of this paper is to report the existence of communal nesting between garden dormouse females and evaluate the potential adaptative reasons of this behaviour.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Communal nesting in the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)

Viñals

Bertolino

Gil‐Delgado

2017

Behavioural Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Communal nesting has been described in many rodents including some dormouse species. In this study, we report the existence of this reproductive strategy in the garden dormouse Eliomys quercinus. Data was recorded by checking natural nests and nest-boxes from 2003 to 2013 in SE Spain. Pups and adults dormice found in nests were captured and marked. Overall, 198 nests were found: 161 (81.31%) were singular nests and 37 (18.69%) were communal nests. Communal nests were composed by different combinations of one up to three females together with one up to three different size litters. The number of communal nests varied from year to year in accordance with the number of singular nests and no seasonal differences were observed. In at least one case, an adult female and her adult daughter were found sharing the same nest-box. The hypothesis that communal nesting was encouraged by a lack of favourable nesting sites was rejected. Litters protection from predators or conspecifics seems the most likely hypothesis to explain communal nesting in our garden dormouse population.

show abstract

“…) has definitely confirmed the genetic separation of the South Italian population (Calabria, Eolian islands, Sardinia and Sicily), therefore supporting the validity of the G. g. italicus subspecies. Actually, only few researches have addressed habitat preferences of arboreal rodent species in forests of northern (Berg & Berg 1998, Lurz et al 2000, Wolton 2009) and southern Palaearctic (Cagnin et al 2000, Bertolino & Di Montezemolo 2007. Very few information about the ecology of G. g. italicus in peninsular Italy (Franco 1990, Capizzi et al 2003 and Sicily ) is available, and modelling on edible dormice habitat preferences in Mediterranean forests is totally lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We therefore referred our research in terms of habitat preference, because we aimed to determine the habitat features on which the settlement of our focal species (the edible dormouse, Glis glis) depends in a Mediterranean forest, and whether habitat requirements are the same between different age cohorts of individuals. The phylogeography of glirids (Hürner et al 2010, Lo Brutto et al 2011, Mouton et al 2012, Perez et al 2013 (Berg & Berg 1998, Lurz et al 2000, Wolton 2009) and southern Palaearctic (Cagnin et al 2000, Bertolino & Di Montezemolo 2007. Very few information about the ecology of G. g. italicus in peninsular Italy (Franco 1990, Capizzi et al 2003 and Sicily (Milazzo et al 2003) is available, and modelling on edible dormice habitat preferences in Mediterranean forests is totally lacking.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat preferences of edible dormouse,Glis glis italicus: implications for the management of arboreal mammals in Mediterranean forests

Marteau¹,

Sarà²

2015

Folia Zoologica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract.Research on arboreal mammals living in Mediterranean forests is poor. Molecular research assessed the existence of an evolutionary significant unit in the edible dormouse populations living in south Italy, Sicily and Sardinia, and we decided to investigate the environmental factors capable of explaining its occurrence and abundance in Sicily, for a better management of these populations. We assessed the species habitat preferences by setting 25 large and 25 small nestboxes in five sample areas along an altitudinal gradient of the Madonie Range, and recorded habitat variables, food availability, and demographic data for two years. To obtain synthetic descriptors of the dormice habitat requirements, we extracted uncorrelated linear combinations of original variables by Principal Component Analysis; then we modelled habitat preferences of dormice by Generalized Linear Models, and selected the best models by Akaike's information criterion and model averaging. Dormice abundances varied markedly between the two years of study. Population peaked and reproduced in 2010, a masting year of oaks and beeches. In the following non-masting year, a much lower number of adults and yearlings used nestboxes, without any sign of reproduction. In both years we found a significant effect of altitudinal vegetation belt. Dormice seem to prefer mixed broad-leaved and evergreen (cork, holm) oak forests below 800-1300 m a.s.l, to beech forests at higher altitude, and avoid coniferous plantations. Inside these woodlands they seem to prefer monotypic and mature oak-stands with dense canopies. Large nestboxes are more preferred than small ones only during reproductive years. Protection of large and mature woodland from wildfires and forestry management caring the retention of significant elements like old trees, logs and litter mounds are necessary to maintain the habitat of edible dormouse in Southern Mediterranean forests. Artificial nestboxes are a viable device to help population restocking in degraded forests. 137Often authors refer to habitat selection and habitat preference as they were equivalent (e.g. Berg & Berg 1998, Suárez-Seoane et al. 2002, Jeganathan et al. 2004. We prefer to make a distinction between habitat selection, the behavioural process with which individuals choose resources, and habitat preference, i.e. the final pattern of habitats used with respect to their availability (Manly et al. 2002, Martínez et al. 2003. In addition, habitat preferences have been assumed to be adaptive (Martin 1998), as they involve a hierarchical discrimination of environmental features that provide the use of different pattern of resources, which in turn affect survival and reproduction of animal species. We therefore referred our research in terms of habitat preference, because we aimed to determine the habitat features on which the settlement of our focal species (the edible dormouse, Glis glis) depends in a Mediterranean forest, and whether habitat requirements are the same between different age cohorts of individuals. The ph...

show abstract

Garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) nest site selection in an alpine habitat

Cited by 21 publications

References 17 publications

Nest site selection by the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius: is safety more important than food?

Nest site selection by the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius: is safety more important than food?

Communal nesting in the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)

Habitat preferences of edible dormouse,Glis glis italicus: implications for the management of arboreal mammals in Mediterranean forests

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About