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Field vole (Microtus agrestis) seasonal spacing behavior: the effect of predation risk by mustelids

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Abstract

There are numerous studies showing that predation risk may change different aspects of the behavior of prey, such as habitat use, activity pattern, and foraging. Prey should exhibit the strongest antipredatory response against their most deadly predator. Small mustelids are considered the most important mammalian predators of voles. Nevertheless, there is no general agreement as to whether strong antipredatory reactions exist in natural free-living populations of voles. Here, we studied the field vole Microtus agrestis spatial reaction to high predation risk from small mustelids in the breeding (August) and nonbreeding (October) seasons under natural conditions. Voles were exposed to a caged weasel (Mustela nivalis) and a stoat (Mustela erminea), as well as to the odors of these predators. The reactions of 30 field voles were monitored with radiotelemetry. The field voles were found to display antipredator reactions that varied with season. In the breeding period, in response to predation risk, voles reduced locomotory activity and daily-range size, whereas in the nonbreeding period they did not. Changes in home range position were similar for control and treatment voles, in both the breeding and nonbreeding periods. The results indicate that mustelid predators modify the spatial behavior of small rodents in natural conditions depending on season. This might be a reflection of differences in state-dependent responses to predation from sexually active or inactive individuals. This suggests that the basic antipredatory reaction of voles under high predation risk from small mustelids limits their locomotory activity.

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Acknowledgments

The study was financed by the General Directorate of Polish Forestry (grant BLP-916 to ZB) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization postdoctoral fellowship to ZB. We are grateful to B. Jędrzejewska, L. Rychlik, and Pehr H. Enckell for their constructive comments on a draft of this paper. This work complies with the current laws of Poland

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Ecology and Wildlife Management, Forest Research Institute, Sekocin-Las, 05-090, Raszyn, Poland

    Zbigniew Borowski

  2. Kampinos National Park, Tetmajera 38, 05-090, Izabelin, Poland

    Edyta Owadowska

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  1. Zbigniew Borowski
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  2. Edyta Owadowska
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Correspondence to Zbigniew Borowski.

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Borowski, Z., Owadowska, E. Field vole (Microtus agrestis) seasonal spacing behavior: the effect of predation risk by mustelids. Naturwissenschaften 97, 487–493 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-010-0663-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-010-0663-1

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