ABSTRACT Spatial distribution of Apodemus flavicollis and A. agrarius were studied in a forest community Quercetum-petraea at Avala mountain (Serbia). During this study (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999

D Kataranovski

O Vukicevic-Radic

R Matic

T Jovanovic

T Vujadinovic

CiteSeerX

 
Biotechnol. & Biotechnol. Eq. 20/2006/1 57
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF APODEMUS  
FLAVICOLLIS AND A. AGRARIUS IN A FOREST  
COMMUNITY QUERCETUM-PETRAEA ON  
MT. AVALA (SERBIA) 
 
O. Vukicevic-Radic, R. Matic, T. Vujadinovic, T. Jovanovic, D. Kataranovski 
Institute for Biological Research "Siniša Stanković", Department of Ecology, Belgrade, 
Serbia and Montenegro 
 
ABSTRACT 
Spatial distribution of Apodemus flavicollis and A. agrarius were studied in a forest com-
munity Quercetum-petraea at Avala mountain (Serbia). During this study (1996-1999), 
381 individuals of A. flavicollis and 127 individuals of A. agrarius were marked. Our re-
sults suggest different exploitation of space within habitats. The areas most favored by A. 
flavicollis were those with a dense canopy of Quercus petraea. Individuals of A. agrarius 
inhabited the area with dense cover of Rubus hirtus. These associations with different 
kinds of cover indicate the spatial division of habitats shared by two studied species.  
 
Introduction 
A rodent community composed of the yel-
low-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis 
(Melchior, 1834) and the stripped field 
mouse, A. agrarius (Pallas, 1771) is typical 
for forest habitat on Avala mountain. The 
yellow-necked mouse is characterized by a 
great mobility and is strongly dependent on 
the forest environment (1). The stripped 
field mouse is a species typical for the agri-
cultural field-forest habitat mosaic (2).  
The spatial distribution of small rodent 
species was analyzed by many authors (3, 
4, 5). However, it is not entirely clear how 
individual species occupy the habitat when 
they co-occur, and how they interact.  
Materials and Methods 
The study was carried out in an oak forest 
(Orno-Quercetum petraeae) at Avala 
mountain (44º45' E, 18º10' N), located near 
Belgrade. On the study area (1 ha) the tree 
height was 10-20 m, with diameters ran-
ging from 10-40 cm. Of the tree species, 
Quercus petraea predominated, accompa-
nied by Fraxinus ornus and Carpinus 
betulus. The canopy cover was 70%. The 
middle-storey is well developed – cover 
20-100% (0.5 -5 m height) composed 
mainly of Acer campestre, Prunus avium 
and Tilia tomentosa. The understorey and 
ground cover are variable, dominated by 
Rubus hirtus (10-100 % cover), while 
Dacrylis glomerata, Lonicera caprifolium, 
Fragaria vesca, Galium aparine are locally 
important.  
Small mammals were trapped during a 
three year period (1996-1999). Square 
trapping grid of 100 points (10 x 10 m) was 
used, and a Longworth trap at each point. 
The capturing was performed every month, 
with a 4 days trapping period. The study 
was conducted by using the capture-mark-
release (CMR) method. Each individual 
was marked by a combination of ear-
punching and toe-clipping when trapped 
for the first time. Percentages of the trap 
station occupied were calculated for each 
trapping session. Population densities were 
estimated by Jolly-Seber method (6, 7). 
 
Biotechnol. & Biotechnol. Eq. 20/2006/1 58
The percentage of intra- and interspecific 
overlap (Ov %) in the trap use was calcu-
lated as: 100(%)
T
NsOv = , Ns = number of 
traps shared by two or more individuals; 
T= total number of traps used (8). Distri-
bution of captures on grid was used in ex-
trapolating to the use of space by two 
studied species. 
Results and Discussion 
During the studied period we marked 508 
individuals, (381 individuals of A. flavicol-
lis and 127 individuals of A. agrarius). For 
all period, the ratio of males-to-females 
was 52.5% : 47.5% for A. flavicollis and 
57.5% : 42.5% for A. agrarius. Total cap-
tures in a trapping session ranged from 7 to 
45% of the possible capture opportunities 
for yellow-necked mouse and from 1 to 
10% for striped field mouse. 
Abundance of both species varied mar-
kedly over the period of the study. Maxi-
mal density of population of A. flavicollis 
was registered twice, in June 1997 (85 
ind/ha), and in 1998 in the same period (47 
ind/ha). Minimal density was registered in 
January 1999 (3 ind/ha). A. agrarius 
reached two peaks in April 1997 (21 
ind/ha) and in September 1998 (32 ind/ha). 
Minimal density was registered in January 
1998 (2 ind/ha). The relative abundance of 
these species changed considerably over 
the study period. From November 1996 to 
July 1998 the yellow necked mice pre-
dominated forming 77.4 - 90.2% of the 
community, but from September 1998 to 
January 1999 both species occurred in al-
most equal proportion.  
The distributions of captures of A. flavi-
collis and A. agrarius, as a proportion of 
total captures, from 1996 to 1999, are il-
lustrated in Figure. The individuals of 
yellow-necked mouse were caught at every 
quadrate, while the individuals of striped 
field mouse were not caught at 168 quad-
rates of the grid during  the  studied period.  
TABLE 1 
Chi-square values for frequency distribution of A. 
flavicollis (N=381) and A. agrarius (N=127) in four 
habitat subunits: A – Close canopy of mature 
Quercus petraea; B – Open canopy of mature 
Quercus petraea, Fraxinus ornus and Carpinus 
betulus; C – Very few mature trees, dense field 
layer of Acer campestre, Prunus avium and Tilia 
tomentosa; D – No mature trees, very dense Rubus 
hirtus (*** P<0.001, ** P<0.01) 
 A. flavicollis A. agrarius 
A 96.8*** 10.7 
B 44.8** 13.7 
C 5.2 57.3** 
D 47.5 158.2*** 
 
The actual number of trapped individuals 
in each habitat subunit was compared with 
expected random distribution for studied 
species (Table 1). Statistically significant 
difference in distribution of A. flavicollis 
was found in areas with mature Quercus 
petraea, Fraxinus ornus and Carpinus 
betulus. The distribution of A. agrarius is 
statistically different from random distribu-
tion in habitat subunits with dense field 
layer and very dense Rubus hirtus. 
The interspecific overlap in the trap use 
was generally low (Table 2). The highest 
values were observed in July (2%) and 
during the winter (November – January). 
Intraspecific overlap in trap use for A. 
flavicollis reached maximum in July (4.5%) 
and minimum in November (0.3%). The 
highest percentages were observed in the 
summer. During the studied period intras-
pecific overlap in the trap use for A. 
agrarius was smaller.  
A. flavicollis and A. agrarius coexist 
within an Orno-Quercetum petraeae com-
munity on Avala mountain. The mature 
deciduous woodland is the favored habitat 
of A. flavicollis. This species as a seed spe-
cialist could be restricted to areas where 
sufficient species diversity occurs to ensure 
an adequate food supply each year (1). 
Striped field mice are commonly found in 
grassy fields, cultivated areas, rice paddies,  
 
Biotechnol. & Biotechnol. Eq. 20/2006/1 59
        0-0.5 %        0.51-1 %          1.1-1.5 %        > 1.51%  
a         b   
Figure. Proportion of total captures of A. flavicollis (a) and A. agrarius (b) at each trap point of the grid. 
 
TABLE 2 
Percentage of intra- and interspecific overlap in 
trap use among A. flavicollis (N=381) and A. 
agrarius (N=127) 
 
Month 
Inter-
specific 
overlap 
Intraspecific 
overlap for 
A. flavicollis 
Intraspecific 
overlap for 
A. agrarius 
I 1.7±0.92 1.3±0.72 0.3±0.20 
II 0.3±0.17 1.2±0.85 0 
III 0.3±0.26 0.5±0.26 0 
IV 0 1.3±0.56 0.3±017 
V 1.3±0.61 1.5±0.87 0 
VI 1.0±0.40 3.3±1.05 0 
VII 2.0±0.66 4.5±1.95 0.5±0.30 
VIII 1.1±0.46 3.3±1.49 0.3±0.26 
IX 1.0±0.36 3.3±0.96 0 
X 0.3±0.20 1.4±0.60 0 
XI 1.7±0.26 0.3±0.26 0 
XII 1.8±0.78 1.8±0.85 0 
 
woodlands and forests (9). Gliwicz (10) 
pointed out that A. agrarius holds an infe-
rior position in the community and the 
other rodents strongly affect its population 
processes. The trophic niches of both 
studied species are very similar. They are 
granivorous and the seed and fruits of trees 
are their predominant food resource. Both 
species supplement their diet with inverte-
brates – animal food forming up to 20% of 
the whole food consumed in A. flavicollis 
and about 40% in A. agrarius (11, 12).  
The analysis of spatial relationships was 
performed in order to discover whether 
both species inhabited the same patches of 
habitat. The percentage of interspecific 
overlap in the trap use among individuals 
of two studied species was generally low. 
Intraspecific overlap in the trap use is much 
bigger for A. flavicollis than for A. 
agrarius, and that could be explained by its 
higher density on the studied area. Our re-
sults indicate different exploitation of space 
within habitats. The areas most favored by 
A. flavicollis were those with a dense can-
opy of Quercus petraea. Individuals of A. 
agrarius inhabited area with dense cover of 
Rubus hirtus. These associations with dif-
ferent kinds of cover point out the spatial 
division of habitats shared by two studied 
species.  
 
Biotechnol. & Biotechnol. Eq. 20/2006/1 60
Acknowledgements 
This study was supported by the Ministry 
of Science, Technology and Development 
of the Republic of Serbia, Grant #1565. 
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1.  Montgomery W.I. (1985) Symp. Zool. Soc. 
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3.  Szacki J., Liro A. (1991). Landscape Ecol., 5, 
219-224. 
4.  Montgomery W.I., Dowie M. (1993) J. App. 
Ecol., 30, 783-791. 
5.  Marsh A.C., Poulton S., Harris S. (2001) 
Mammal Rev., 31, 203-227. 
6.  Jolly G.M. (1965) Biometrika, 52, 225-247. 
7.  Seber G.A.F. (1965) Biometrika, 52, 249-259. 
8.  Löfgran O. (1995) Oikos, 72, 29-35. 
9.  Chelkowska H., Walkowa W., Adamczyk K. 
(1985) Acta Theriol., 30, 51-78. 
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11.  Holisova V. (1967) Zool. Listy, 16, 1-14. 
12.  Obrtel R., Holisova V. (1974) Acta Sc. Nat. 
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SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF APODEMUS FLAVICOLLIS AND A. AGRARIUS IN A FOREST COMMUNITY QUERCETUM-PETRAEA ON MT. AVALA (SERBIA)

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SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF APODEMUS FLAVICOLLIS AND A. AGRARIUS IN A FOREST COMMUNITY QUERCETUM-PETRAEA ON MT. AVALA (SERBIA)

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