Who ends up in the eagle owl pellets? A new method to assess whether water voles experience different predation risk

Melis, Claudia; Holmern, Tomas; Ringsby, Thor Harald; Sæther, Bernt‐Erik

doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2011.06.008

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…About 40% of the capture consisted of individual classified as "adults" according to their size and 43.7% of the capture were males. For details about the capture and measurement methods, see Melis et al (2011). At first capture, a tissue sample was taken from the ear by a 2-mm biopsy punch (BC-BI-0500 Stiefel Biopsy Punch) and the individuals were marked with a passive integrated transponder tag inserted by injection under the skin of the neck (Trovan ID100, 2.12 9 11.5 mm, Trovan Ltd., Douglas, U.K.).…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variability and structure of the water voleArvicola amphibiusacross four metapopulations in northern Norway

Melis

Borg

Jensen

et al. 2013

Ecology and Evolution

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Water vole Arvicola amphibius populations have recently experienced severe decline in several European countries as a consequence of both reduction in suitable habitat and the establishment of the alien predator American mink Neovison vison. We used DNA microsatellite markers to describe the genetic structure of 14 island populations of water vole off the coast of northern Norway. We looked at intra- and inter-population levels of genetic variation and examined the effect of distance among pairs of populations on genetic differentiation (isolation by distance). We found a high level of genetic differentiation (measured by FST) among populations overall as well as between all pairs of populations. The genetic differentiation between populations was positively correlated with geographic distance between them. A clustering analysis grouped individuals into 7 distinct clusters and showed the presence of 3 immigrants among them. Our results suggest a small geographic scale for evolutionary and population dynamic processes in our water vole populations.

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Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variability and structure of the water voleArvicola amphibiusacross four metapopulations in northern Norway

Melis

Borg

Jensen

et al. 2013

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Annual predation rates could account for nearly all mortality, as found by Erlinge et al (1983). (c) Adult and male voles were overrepresented in the diet of the eagle owl, but the hypothesis that those eaten were of lower mass and hence most likely in poorer condition as found by Melis et al (2011), was not supported (sensu Sunde et al 2012). The lower proportion of males among adults than among juveniles may have resulted from higher mortality rates among males.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Over a 16-year period, I studied water voles living on small islands on the coast of northern Norway where there was only one major predator, the eagle owl Bubo bubo (Linnaeus, 1758). This predator-prey system was very simple, consisting basically of one prey and one predator, and could theoretically throw light on the mechanisms driving population changes and contribute to unraveling the prey-predator relationship (sensu Melis et al 2011). The sedentary eagle owl is a formidable and efficient predator of water voles (Frafjord 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population dynamics of an island population of water voles Arvicola amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758) with one major predator, the eagle owl Bubo bubo (Linnaeus, 1758), in northern Norway

Frafjord

2021

Polar Biol

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Predator–prey relationships are of great significance to ecosystems, and their effects on the population dynamics of voles and lemmings (Microtinae) in Boreal and Arctic environments have long been of particular interest. A simple ecosystem with one major prey and one major predator could be an ideal setting for a study of their interactions. This is the situation on several small islands on the coast of northern Norway just below the Arctic Circle, with populations of water voles Arvicola amphibius preyed upon by the eagle owl Bubo bubo. The population dynamics of the water vole was studied by trapping and tagging in 2003–2018, eagle owl pellets were collected for analyses, eagle owl breeding attempts were recorded, and some weather variables collected from official recordings. After having been introduced well into the study period, the number of sheep Ovis aries was also recorded. Water voles were the main prey of the eagle owl, with 89% occurrence in pellets, with an overrepresentation of adults and males. Both predation, sheep grazing and extreme weather events influenced the vole population. Predator exclusion, as happened in three summers due to an intensive radio tracking study, especially increased the number of surviving young (in particular from the early cohorts) and the mass of adults. Extreme weather events, such as flooding in summer and deeply frozen ground in winter, most significantly reduced vole populations. Sheep grazing may exacerbate the effects of predation. A similar multitude of factors may affect populations of other rodent species as well.

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“…PIT tags are a proven effective method of individually marking animals and have a high retention rate (Harper & Batzli, 1996;Melis et al, 2011), and therefore PIT tag failure or loss was considered unlikely. Despite a trapping duration of five days being adequate for the majority of rodent populations (Gurnell & Flowerdew, 2006), future studies with water voles in Glasgow should consider a more extensive trapping period if trapping rate is low.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water vole (Arvicola amphibius) abundance in grassland habitats of Glasgow

Stewart¹,

Jarrett²,

Scott³

et al. 2019

The Glasgow Naturalist

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Water vole (Arvicola amphibius) populations have undergone a serious decline throughout the UK, and yet a stronghold of these small mammals is found in the greater Easterhouse area of Glasgow. The water voles in this location are mostly fossorial, living a largely subterranean existence in grasslands, rather than the more typical semi-aquatic lifestyle in riparian habitats. In this study, we carried out capture-mark-recapture surveys on water voles at two sites: Cranhill Park and Tillycairn Drive. We made a total of 62 captures including retraps, and the resulting population estimates were 78 individuals (95% confidence interval 41-197) for Cranhill Park and 42 individuals (20-141) for Tillycairn Drive. From these figures we estimated a population density of water voles, which appeared to be higher than other reports from the UK. Despite the difficulties of sampling in urban environments that resulted in relatively low capture rates, our data suggest that the greater Easterhouse area of Glasgow holds water voles at relatively high population densities. These results will inform future conservation in the City of Glasgow and surrounding areas, as well as raise awareness of important water vole populations in urban environments.

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Who ends up in the eagle owl pellets? A new method to assess whether water voles experience different predation risk

Cited by 6 publications

References 29 publications

Genetic variability and structure of the water voleArvicola amphibiusacross four metapopulations in northern Norway

Genetic variability and structure of the water voleArvicola amphibiusacross four metapopulations in northern Norway

Population dynamics of an island population of water voles Arvicola amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758) with one major predator, the eagle owl Bubo bubo (Linnaeus, 1758), in northern Norway

Water vole (Arvicola amphibius) abundance in grassland habitats of Glasgow

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