Using spatially explicit capture-recapture (secr) modellingto study a fossorial rodent

• Juan Romairone ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Valladolid

     Universidad de Valladolid

     Valladolid, España

     
• Localización: XI young researchers meeting on conservation and sustainable use of forest systems / coord. por Elena Hidalgo Rodríguez, Francisco Javier Dorado Reyes, Ainhoa Iñiguez Soto, Diego A. Damián Carrión, Samuel Gato Martín, Guillermo Jové Alcalde, Raúl Arcadio Fernández González, 2017, ISBN 978-84-617-9574-1, pág. 42
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) modelling is a powerful tool to study elusive animal and estimate population density, but has not yet been applied to the study of fossorial rodents. Using this methodology, we estimated key population parameters of common voles (Microtus arvalis) in an experimental plot located in an agricultural landscape NW Spain. In June 2016, a total of 139 common voles, 41(30%) males and 98 (70%) females were captured, marked with individual transponders and released at the capture point. The trapping grid 2.5 ha (132m x 195m) consisted of 124 modified-Sherman traps with a nest provided with bedding material and baited with apple and fodder. Trapping sessions lasted eight days during two consecutive weeks and traps were checked twice a day. Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture (SERC) modelling was applied to the collected data in order to get estimates of common vole population size (N), density (D) and movements parameters (σ). We estimated population size (Mean ± SD = 481 ± 83), density (187 ± 32 /ha), movement parameters for females (5.5 ± 0.67) and males (10.1 ± 1.2) as well as the number of males (88.0 ± 15.0) and females (393.1 ± 80.4) in the population. We show that the results obtained by a simpler Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) method underestimateddensity whereas SECR estimates were closer to reality. Our study demonstrates that SECR modelling can be a very useful and innovative tool to precisely characterize and monitor populations of fossorial rodents, such as the common vole. Interestingly, in early spring the female population size was almost 4.5 times bigger than that of males, which were more mobile than females (50%). We suggest that the difference in movements may be related to the starting of the mating season where female decrease their movements due to breeding while the malesincrease their movements searching for females to mate with.