000118865 001__ 118865
000118865 005__ 20221202151033.0
000118865 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1002/ecy.2776
000118865 0248_ $$2sideral$$a129831
000118865 037__ $$aART-2019-129831
000118865 041__ $$aeng
000118865 100__ $$aMougeot, François
000118865 245__ $$aNumerical response of a mammalian specialist predator to multiple prey dynamics in Mediterranean farmlands.
000118865 260__ $$c2019
000118865 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted
000118865 5203_ $$aThe study of rodent population cycles has greatly contributed, both theoretically and empirically, to our understanding of the circumstances under which predator–prey interactions destabilize populations. According to the specialist predator hypothesis, reciprocal interactions between voles and small predators that specialize on voles, such as weasels, can cause multiannual cycles. A fundamental feature of classical weasel–vole models is a long time-lag in the numerical response of the predator to variations in prey abundance: weasel abundance increases with that of voles and peaks approximately 1 yr later. We investigated the numerical response of the common weasel (Mustela nivalis) to fluctuating abundances of common voles (Microtus arvalis) in recently colonized agrosteppes of Castilla-y-Leon, northwestern Spain, at the southern limit of the species’ range. Populations of both weasels and voles exhibited multiannual cycles with a 3-yr period. Weasels responded quickly and numerically to changes in common-vole abundance, with a time lag between prey and weasel abundance that did not exceed 4 months and occurred during the breeding season, reflecting the quick conversion of prey into predator offspring and/or immigration to sites with high vole populations. We found no evidence of a sustained, high weasel abundance following vole abundance peaks. Weasel population growth rates showed spatial synchrony across study sites approximately 60 km apart. Weasel dynamics were more synchronized with that of common voles than with other prey species (mice or shrews). However, asynchrony within, as well as among sites, in the abundance of voles and alternative prey suggests that weasel mobility could allow them to avoid starvation during low-vole phases, precluding the emergence of prolonged time lag in the numerical response to voles. Our observations are inconsistent with the specialist predator hypothesis as currently formulated, and suggest that weasels might follow rather than cause the vole cycles in northwestern Spain. The reliance of a specialized predator on a functional group of prey such as small rodents does not necessarily lead to a long delay in the numerical response by the predator, depending on the spatial and interspecific synchrony in prey dynamics.
000118865 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/CGL2012-35348$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/CGL2015-66962-C2-1-R
000118865 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aAll rights reserved$$uhttp://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/
000118865 590__ $$a4.7$$b2019
000118865 591__ $$aECOLOGY$$b22 / 168 = 0.131$$c2019$$dQ1$$eT1
000118865 592__ $$a2.507$$b2019
000118865 593__ $$aEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics$$c2019$$dQ1
000118865 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
000118865 700__ $$aLambin, Xavier
000118865 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0001-8435-6386$$aRodríguez-Pastor, Ruth
000118865 700__ $$aRomairone, Juan
000118865 700__ $$aLuque-Larena, Juan José
000118865 773__ $$g100, 9 (2019), e02776 [14 pp]$$pEcology$$tECOLOGY$$x0012-9658
000118865 8564_ $$s2810341$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/118865/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada
000118865 8564_ $$s2673722$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/118865/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada
000118865 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:118865$$particulos$$pdriver
000118865 951__ $$a2022-12-02-14:39:28
000118865 980__ $$aARTICLE