Are hedgerows the route to increased farmland small mammal density? Use of hedgerows in British pastoral habitats
Are hedgerows the route to increased farmland small mammal density? Use of hedgerows in British pastoral habitats
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DOI：
10.1007/s10980-007-9088-4
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发表时间：
2007-08-01
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
Mathews, Fiona
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Gelling, Merryl;Macdonald, David W.;Mathews, Fiona
由于生境破碎化，线性生境越来越普遍，可能成为某些物种的唯一生境。树篱是线性特征，在结构和质量上可以有很大的变化。在调查了180个绿篱，在四个地点，并采样他们的小哺乳动物群落，我们研究了物理绿篱属性对小哺乳动物物种丰度的影响。使用景观结构的三个要素，我们探讨了变化是否是最好的解释随机样本假说（即小岛代表那些物种的随机样本，人口较大的地区），或破碎化假说（即物种丰度将减少与栖息地面积的损失）。我们测试了小型哺乳动物的相对丰度和1之间的关系。绿篱连通性; 2.栖息地的总可用性和3.当地生境复杂性。然后，我们探讨了这些栖息地变量的组合的预测能力。连通性是一个积极的预测林鼠，和绿篱缺口是一个负面的预测银行田鼠Glereolus。栖息地的总量（绿篱宽度，高度和长度）是一个积极的指标，总的小哺乳动物生物量。这些结果支持破碎化假说，即物种丰富度和分布随着栖息地面积的减少而减少。因此，保护线性和相关的栖息地可能是重要的，在维持集合种群的物种，我们研究。
Linear habitats are becoming increasingly common as a consequence of habitat fragmentation, and may provide the sole habitat for some species. Hedgerows are linear features that can vary substantially in structure and quality. Having surveyed 180 hedgerows, in four locations, and sampled their small mammal communities we examined the effect of physical hedgerow attributes on the abundance of small mammal species. Using three elements of landscape structure, we explored whether variation was best explained by the Random Sample Hypothesis (that small islands represent a random sample of those species populating larger areas), or by the Fragmentation Hypothesis (that species abundance will decrease with a loss of habitat area). We tested the relationship between the relative abundance of small mammals and 1. hedgerow connectivity; 2. total habitat availability and 3. local habitat complexity. We then explored the predictive power of combinations of these habitat variables. Connectivity was a positive predictor of wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus, and hedgerow gappiness was a negative predictor of bank voles Clethrionomys glareolus. The total amount of habitat available (hedgerow width, height and length) was a positive indicator of total small mammal biomass. These results support the Fragmentation Hypothesis that species abundance and distribution decrease with a loss of habitat area. The preservation of linear and associated habitats may therefore be important in maintaining metapopulations of the species we studied.