Spatial relationships in sympatric populations of the rodents: Clethrionomys glareolus, Microtus agrestis and Apodemus agrarius

Abstract

Spatial distribution and interactions were analysed for three cooccurring populations of the rodents Clethrionomys glareolus (Schreber, 1780), Microtus agrestis (Linnaeus, 1761) and Apodemus agrarius (Pallas, 1771). The study was conducted in three 1-ha plots located in forests of southern Poland, in an industrial region (Silesia). Rodents were captured by the CMR method from October 1977 to October 1981. The study areas differed in the degradation of plant communities and the degree of industrial pollution. It has been found that C.glareolus showed a higher degree of aggregation, less frequently changed the points of capture, and was most permanently attracted to them, as compared with the other species. All the rodent species tended to avoid one another at trapping points, especially C.glareolus and M.agrestis. There were differences in the values of various indices among particular plots, which can be related to the degree of plant cover degradation.