"Living on the edge": The role of field margins for common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations in recently colonised Mediterranean farmland
"Living on the edge": The role of field margins for common vole (Microtus arvalis) populations in recently colonised Mediterranean farmland
复制标题
DOI：
10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.041
复制
发表时间：
2016-09-01
影响因子：
6.6
通讯作者：
Mougeot, Francois
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Rodriguez-Pastor, Ruth;Jose Luque-Larena, Juan;Mougeot, Francois
小型啮齿动物是农田中常见的居民，在那里它们发挥着关键的生态系统作用，但如果数量过多，也可能成为主要害虫，造成作物破坏和重大经济损失。农业景观的特点是高度碎片化，剩余的半自然生境通常局限于狭窄的田野边缘。这些线性栖息地是维持当地生物多样性的关键，但也可能是田鼠等“侵入性害虫”物种的庇护所。常见的田鼠Microtus arvalis是欧洲大陆农田的一种主要脊椎动物害虫，最近入侵了西班牙西北部地中海内陆农业景观，那里现在经常发生破坏作物的疫情。了解地中海农业景观中普通田鼠对田野边缘的依赖程度，将是朝着更有针对性的管理迈出的重要一步。在这里，我们报告了地中海欧洲农田中常见的田鼠栖息地的使用情况，并将它们与北纬地区的田鼠栖息地进行比较，从而寻找总体模式和地理差异。我们在主要栖息地(谷类和紫花苜蓿作物、休闲及其边缘)进行了长达6年的季节性捕食。我们显示出强烈的边缘效应，表现为田鼠丰度从田野边缘向田野内部呈指数衰减，边缘田鼠丰度是田野内部田鼠丰度的23倍。这种边缘效应的大小取决于作物类型、季节和田鼠丰度(依赖于密度)。谷类作物的边缘效应比紫花苜蓿或燕麦强(在春季和秋季，谷类作物的边际丰度是田间的8-10倍)。谷物似乎是普通田鼠最不理想的栖息地，夏季田鼠密度增加时，田鼠会大量涌入田地。田野边缘的植被特征几乎不随季节变化，为地中海农田中的普通田鼠提供了有限但稳定的栖息地和关键避难所(占农业面积的5%)。我们的结果表明，在危害作物的常见田鼠暴发的综合防治方案中，应考虑在春秋两季粮食作物的田缘和种群增加期间的紫花苜蓿田内采取针对性的管理措施。(C)2016年提交人。由Elsevier B.V.出版。这是一篇在CC许可下的开放获取文章
Small rodents are common inhabitants of farmlands where they play key ecosystem roles but can also be major pests when overabundant, causing crop damages and significant economic losses. Agricultural landscapes are characterised by high fragmentation with remnant semi-natural habitats being typically restricted to narrow field margins. These linear habitats are key to maintaining local biodiversity, but can also harbour "irruptive pest" species, such as voles. The common vole Microtus arvalis, is a main vertebrate pest in continental European farmlands, and recently invaded the inland Mediterranean agricultural landscapes of NW Spain, where regular crop-damaging outbreaks now occur. Knowing how reliant common voles are on field margins in Mediterranean agricultural landscapes would be an important step forward for more targeted management. Here we report on common vole habitat use in Mediterranean European farmland and compare them with those found in northern latitudes, thus seeking for both general patterns as well as geographical differences. We conducted seasonal trappings over 6-years in the main habitats (cereal and alfalfa crops, fallows, and their margins). We show a strong edge effect, in the form of an exponential decay in vole abundance from the margin towards the inside of fields, and vole abundances 23 times higher in margins that inside fields. The magnitude of this edge effect varied depending on crop type, season and vole abundance (density-dependence). Cereal crops were characterised by a stronger edge effect than alfalfas or fallows (with abundance 8-10 times higher in margins than in fields during spring and autumn). Cereals appeared as the least optimal habitat for common voles, with important spill-over of voles inside the fields in summer when densities increased. Field margins, where vegetation characteristics hardly change seasonally, provide a limited (5% of the agricultural surface) but stable habitat and key refuge for common voles in Mediterranean farmlands. Our results suggest that targeting management actions in the field margins of cereal crops during spring and autumn and inside alfalfa fields during population increases should be considered in integrated control schemes of crop-damaging common vole outbreaks. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license