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50 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS Table 3. Use of nestboxes set up at different heights by M. avellanarius and A. flavicollis in Lithuania at site B in autumn 1985-1987 Use of nestboxes by ae ’ ES peo M. avellanarius A. flavicollis n % n % 1 105 7 6.7 19 …
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3.3. USE OF NESTBOXES 51 Table 4. Regional peculiarities in nest material used by M. avellanarius in nestboxes Tula region, Russia (Likhachev 1967a) Moscow region, Russia (Likhachev 1967a) Moldova (Lozan 1970) Moldova (Airapetyants 1983) The West …
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3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS Fig. 27. Preference of green leaves of different trees and shrubs as nest material shown by M. avellanarius in nestboxes in mixed coniferous-deciduous forest in Lithuania. was not valid in the case of black alder Al- nus …
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3.4. ACTIVITY PATTERNS 3.4. Activity patterns in M. avellanarius 3.4.1. Seasonal activity and hibernation Data on the seasonal activity of M. avel- lanarius are usually obtained from monitor- ing nestboxes, and they show dependence on geographical …
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54 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS tions, they continue to be active during the first week of October or they may start to hi- bernate (Juskaitis & Biichner 2013). The moulting process is a seasonal phe- nomenon, which has been very little investi- gated in …
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October, but not in spring and early summer (Juskaitis 2008a). According to this indica- tion, the timing of moulting is different in separate demographic groups. In Lithuania, juveniles born in June moult in late July - August, i.e. earlier than adult …
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56 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS Physiological characteristics of hiber- nation include the reduction of body tem- perature to near the ambient temperature, a markedly reduced metabolic rate and irregu- lar spontaneous arousals by activation of the major …
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three cases, the hibernation nest and imme- diate surroundings were covered uniformly with snow, and it is possible that M. avel- lanarius partly moved on the surface of the snow. A marked male occupied eight differ- ent nests during November-March, …
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58 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS ous reproduction throughout the year, but with seasonal peaks, the second occurring in November—December (Sara et al. 2001). The average body weight was relatively stable during the year, and the phase of weight in- crease …
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of M. avellanarius to the nest during the night were very infrequent in all seasons (recorded in only six of 183 dormouse-nights; Bright et al. 1996c). Laufens (1975) described tempo- rary returns to nestboxes as frequent in au- tumn, but absent or very …
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60 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS 80 60; 40 20 Percentage of torpid adult dormice April May June July 10 Mean air temperature, °C as eer! es LO August September October Fig. 31. Proportion of torpid adult M. avellanarius recorded (columns) and mean air …
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3.4. ACTIVITY PATTERNS 61 a) April — May 25 20 eae $C GS = g eg A = aoe © 00 #00#00.0 © 15 bei as Or 56° 2 2 BOSaaS ; oon E ei e ry) @00 @ r Ce +e0e0e0e0+ @ 00+: Sos Ol heecans e ee C@ce3eee+e © 00 00000. - c +0¢4+" @ 0 00 © : EO) a Onn @ 0CV@ee ee Ce ke …
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62 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS the definition by Wilz & Heldmaier (2000), such duration of torpor cannot be regarded as “daily torpor”, because it lasted more than 24 hours. In Lithuania, torpor was more frequent among adult males than females. In …
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found torpid when ambient temperature was < 14—15°C. This coincides closely with the re- sults of Eisentraut (1956), who established that the critical temperature for M. avellanarius to fall into dormancy was about 15-16°C. At night, M. avellanarius were …
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64 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS Although torpor is considered an ani- mal’s adaptation to save energy, cases when torpid M. avellanarius were found in the open air cannot be considered adaptive. In Lithuania, five cases have been registered when people …
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3.5. BREEDING Table 5. Timing of birth in M. avellanarius in different regions (except Mediterranean region) Tula region, Russia 16 May 1-2 September Likhachey 1966a Moscow region, Russia 30 May 8-9 September Likhachev 1966a The Alps, Germany 1“ half of …
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3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS Table 6. Litter size and number of litters per season in M. avellanarius in different regions The Alps 3.9 (2-7) 4] 1 Kahmann & Frisch 1950 The foothills of the Alps 2.9 (2-4) 10 1 Wachtendorf 1951 Kampinos forest, Poland …
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20 7 Percentage 0 + May-2 May-3 Jun-1 Jun-2 Jun-3 Jul-1 3.5. BREEDING Jul-2 Jul-3 Aug-1 Aug-2 Aug-3 Sep-1 Sep-2 Sep-3 Fig. 33. Birth time of young in M. avellanarius (n = 758) in ten-day periods in Lithuania (site A in 1981— 1989, 1997-2013 and site B in …
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68 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS (Bird et al. 2012). Meanwhile in Lithuania, breeding by young-of-the-year females was a rather frequent occurrence and it comprised 18.6% of all breeding cases (n = 939) regis- tered during 1981-2013. Lithuanian data on …
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The mean litter size also depended on the mother’s age (Table 7). Litter size increased from young-of-the-year to two-year-old fe- males, but declined in 3-4-year-old females (Juskaitis 2008a). The first litters of marked females, which had two litters …
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70 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS the year, but with seasonal peaks (Sara et al. 2001). November and December were the main months for breeding (50% of 34 litters found), followed by May and June (20.6%). Litters born in spring were smaller than those …
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ern parts of the distributional range and by the rather frequent breeding by young-of- the-year females. In other European dor- mouse species - E. quercinus, D. nitedula and G. glis — two litters per season are re- 3.6. Feeding by M. avellanarius 3.6.1. …
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72 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS 100 80 Percentage 20 0 Apr-| Apr-ll May-! May-Il Jun-! Jun-ll G@ Animal origin M& Inflorescences Jul-l O Vegetative parts Jul-Il_ Aug-| Aug-ll Sep-l Sep-ll Oct-I B Soft mast OH Hard mast Oct-ll Fig. 36. Dynamics of …
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FEEDING 73 Fig. 37. Main vegetable food sources of M. avellanarius in Lithuania during the activity season: a) catkins of willow; b) strobiles of Norway spruce; c) inflorescences of pedunculate oak; d) berries of dwarf honeysuckle; e) raspberries; f) …
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74 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS Table 8. Vegetable food preferences of M. avellanarius under conditions of captivity in Lithuania (I-b. - leaf-buds; f-b., fl., infl. — flower-buds, flowers, inflorescences; |., sp. — leaves, sprouts; fr., sd. — fruits, …
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Fig. 38. Yellow droppings of M. avellanarius contai- ning pollen of Norway spruce inside a nestbox. In faecal samples collected in Britain during May, about half of the items recorded were plant epidermis, predominantly from honeysuckle leaves (Richards …
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76 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS diet (Richards et al. 1984). Plant foods eaten by M. avellanarius in early summer included flowers of honeysuckle (only the proximal 5-10 mm of flower corolla tubes) and bram- ble (Bright & Morris 1993, 2005). In …
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European tree seeds that constitute potential food for small mammals (Grodzinski & Saw- icka-Kapusta 1970). However, M. avellanarius also live in habitats without hazel or in habi- tats where the importance of hazel as a food source for these animals is …
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78 3. ECOLOGY OF M. AVELLANARIUS Table 9. Food preferences of M. avellanarius in different seasons (according to the sources indicated in chapter 3.6.1 of the present book; except in the Mediterranean region) Spring (April-May) Flowers of hawthorn, …
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Eden & Eden (2001) however presented many examples of M. avellanarius feeding on insects in captivity and suggested that insects are an essential part of M. avellanarius diet, because very few habitats, including most woods where dormice occur, can …