Live trapping is central to the study of small mammals. Thus, any bias needs to be understood and accounted for in subsequent analyses to ensure accurate population estimates. One rarely considered bias is the behavioural response of individuals to the trap, in particular the olfactory cues left behind by previous occupants (PO). We used a data set of 8,115 trap nights spanning 17 separate trap...

Rodents are one of the largest groups existing mammals and number more than 2,270 known species, which is almost 42 % total biodiversity worldwide-distributed (except Antarctica some islands). They well adapted to various habitats live alongside people livestock complexes. The purpose study was infestation mice with ixodid ticks in forests Belgorod region adjacent poultry farms. carried out 201...

RATIONALE Microfaunal skeletal remains can be sensitive indicators of the contemporary ecosystem in which they are sampled and are often recovered in owl pellets in large numbers. Species identification of these remains can be obtained using a range of morphological criteria established for particular skeletal elements, but typically dominated by a reliance on cranial characters. However, this ...

We compared the oral microbiome of wild wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) at four ages (18, 22, 26 and 30 weeks). 25 wood mice captured and bred at FERA Science were swabbed orally and the microbial population was characterized by aerobic and anaerobic culture methods followed by 16S rRNA sequencing. The total oral bacterial counts in the wild mice were found to be ~10 cfu/m among all age groups,...

The mammalian magnetic sense is predominantly studied in species with reduced vision such as mole-rats and bats. Far less is known about surface-dwelling (epigeic) rodents with well-developed eyes. Here, we tested the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus for magnetoreception using a simple behavioural assay in which mice are allowed to build nests overnight in a visually symmetrical, circular arena. ...

Species identity is thought to dominate over environment in shaping wild rodent gut microbiota, but it remains unknown whether the responses of host microbiota shared anthropogenic habitat impacts are species-specific or if general response similar across species. Here, we compare influence exposure radionuclide contamination on four mouse species: Apodemus flavicollis, A. sylvaticus, speciosus...

Transport infrastructures, such as highways, disrupt animal migrations and cause roadkill. To mitigate the latter problem, fences have been built but their effectiveness has rarely tested under controlled conditions. Here, we of most commonly used fence in France probably Europe (wire netting fence) to block animals. We wire fence, with without a structural modification (i.e. an overhang), thre...

Abstract Wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus and striped field A. agrarius are the most abundant species in Central Europe coexisting several habitats not only such as forests but also rural urban areas. Their basic colours similar, has a pronounced black stripe on its back. The biological function of this phenotypic difference is unexplored; therefore, our goal was to study impact fur pattern well ...

In western Europe, the natural life cycle of Echinococcus multilocularis (Leuckart, 1863) involves mostly foxes, dogs and cats as definitive hosts and voles (Arvicolidae) as intermediate hosts. Studies on this topic are often restricted to data on prevalence of this tapeworm. However, until now, an association of E. multilocularis with larvae of another cestode species has only been reported fr...