Even the Smallest Non-Crop Habitat Islands Could Be Beneficial: Distribution of Carabid Beetles and Spiders in Agricultural Landscape

Carabid beetles and ground-dwelling spiders inhabiting agroecosystems are beneficial organisms with a potential to control pest species. Intensification of agricultural management and reduction of areas covered by non-crop vegetation during recent decades in some areas has led to many potentially serious environmental problems including a decline in the diversity and abundance of beneficial arthropods in agricultural landscapes. This study investigated carabid beetle and spider assemblages in non-crop habitat islands of various sizes (50 to 18,000 square metres) within one large field, as well as the arable land within the field, using pitfall traps in two consecutive sampling periods (spring to early summer and peak summer). The non-crop habitat islands situated inside arable land hosted many unique ground-dwelling arthropod species that were not present within the surrounding arable land. Even the smallest non-crop habitat islands with areas of tens of square metres were inhabited by assemblages substantially different from these inhabiting arable land and thus enhanced the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes. The non-crop habitat area substantially affected the activity density, recorded species richness and recorded species composition of carabid and ground-dwelling spider assemblages; however, the effects were weakened when species specialised to non-crop habitats species were analysed separately. Interestingly, recorded species richness of spiders increased with non-crop habitat area, whereas recorded species richness of carabid beetles exhibited an opposite trend. There was substantial temporal variation in the spatial distribution of ground-dwelling arthropods, and contrasting patterns were observed for particular taxa (carabid beetles and spiders). In general, local environmental conditions (i.e., non-crop habitat island tree cover, shrub cover, grass cover and litter depth) were better determinants of arthropod assemblages than non-crop habitat island size, indicating that the creation of quite small but diversified (e.g., differing in vegetation cover) non-crop habitat islands could be the most efficient tool for the maintenance and enhancement of diversity of ground-dwelling carabids and spiders in agricultural landscapes.     

The potential of military training areas for bird conservation in a central European landscape

European biodiversity has suffered from serious declines during the past few decades, with alterations of land use practices resulting in a loss of fine-scale habitat heterogeneity being a dominant driver. This heterogeneity was maintained by extensive landscape management, which has gradually been replaced by either intensive exploitation or land abandonment. It has been suggested that military training can generate habitat heterogeneity that may support the existence of species of conservation concern, but studies rigorously testing the real importance of military training areas for biodiversity are lacking. Here we address this issue by analyses of two datasets. First, we compared land cover classes between all large military training areas (MTAs) and surrounding control areas (CAs) of the same size in the Czech Republic using multivariate redundancy analysis. We found that the difference in land cover between MTAs and CAs was significant and represented the strongest gradient in land cover classes: from various farmland and artificial habitats typical for CAs to forest and scrubland-grassland mosaic typical for MTAs. Second, we selected one of these areas and compared bird species richness between the MTA and the nearby CA using generalized linear mixed effects models. We found that the number of species of conservation concern was significantly higher in the MTA than in the CA. With respect to habitats, bird species richness was significantly higher in the MTA than in the CA for open habitats, but not for forest habitats. Our results are thus consistent with the view that military training creates areas that are different from the surrounding landscape in terms of land cover, and that this difference translates to a suitability for species of conservation concern. It is remarkable that the positive influence of military training is confined to open habitats, which are subject to the most intensive military activities and also suffer the highest degree of deterioration in European landscapes.     

Habitat associations of breeding Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis in the British uplands

Habitat associations of Meadow Pipits breeding in British upland 1 km and 10 km squares were investigated using data from the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Breeding Bird Survey (BBS, 1994–97), The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988–1991 and habitat data from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology's (ITE) Land Cover Survey (1994). Meadow Pipit density was highest in 200 m sections of BBS 1 km transects containing unenclosed grass moor, heather and bog, but there was no difference in Meadow Pipit density between these habitat types. Meadow Pipit density (number of individuals per 1 km square) increased with heather cover up to about 7.5 200 m sections (of ten per 1 km square) of heather, but fell thereafter. There was a positive association between Meadow Pipit density and the extent of grass moor cover. The ITE Land Cover data gave results that were consistent with the BBS habitat data at both the 1 km and 10 km square scale. There was a non-linear relationship between hill grass cover and Meadow Pipit abundance, which reached a maximum when hill grass covered between 40%and 60% of a square. Our results suggest that a mosaic of heather, bog and grassland may be the optimum habitat for Meadow Pipits. Recent changes in land management practices may have led to the disappearance or degradation of these mosaics in some areas. Meadow Pipits are widespread and easily counted. We suggest that this species might be a useful bioindicator of changes in heather and grassland ratios that result from land management practices such as grazing and rotational burning, though further research is required.     

Native and introduced land snail species as ecological indicators in different land use types in Java

We investigated the effects of different land use types and environmental parameters on the number and abundance of native and introduced land snail species in East Java. 2919 specimens were sampled and assigned to 55 species of which 8 are introduced. Whereas species richness was highest in primary forest, the highest number of introduced species was found in agroforest. The snail assemblages in different habitat types differ much clearer in composition than in total species richness. Plantations and agroforest are dominated by introduced pulmonates with regard to number of individuals, while primary forest is dominated by native prosobranchs. The habitat requirements of the introduced pulmonates differ from those of the native species. In the study area, the abundance of native as well as introduced pulmonate species increased with increasing human impact. However, the abundance of introduced pulmonate species decreased with increasing density of the canopy cover, whereas the abundance of native pulmonate species increased with increasing canopy cover. The abundance of native prosobranch land snails also tends to increase with increasing canopy cover and with the availability of deadwood, but decreased with increasing human impact. Improving the canopy cover and retaining deadwood in plantations and agroforests might help to control the populations of introduced species or even prevent their establishment in these habitats. Land snails are good indicators for the long-term stability of natural habitats, because several species are restricted to undisturbed natural habitats and because of their low dispersal abilities. However, complete inventories of land snail species are costly. Therefore we propose two indices that can be scored with much less effort, namely the percentage of prosobranch individuals and the percentage of individuals of introduced species. Both indices are significantly correlated with the number of native species. Dense plantations and agroforests bordering primary forests may protect the latter from introduced species and help to conserve the native fauna by reducing desiccation and buffering the human impact on the primary forests.     

Small mammal responses to biosolids on grazed rangelands in British Columbia

Grasslands are globally declining due to habitat conversion, overgrazing, climate change, and changes in fire and drought regimes. Degraded grasslands are less able to support wildlife species, which contributes to the imperilment of many species. Biosolids are used by some ranchers as an organic amendment to support more plant growth and in turn more livestock. We worked on a large cattle ranch in central British Columbia, Canada, to determine how biosolids amendment affected small mammal populations, as mice and voles are major prey for many predators and contribute to seed dispersal and underground dynamics. We found that biosolids-amended pastures had more grass cover and supported fewer deermice (Peromyscus maniculatus) than did unamended pastures. Voles were scarce, likely due to a cyclic low. Although we sampled sites that had had biosolids applied 1 or 3 years prior to our work started, deermouse populations were similarly low across these sites. The reduction in deermice on sites with biosolids relative to unamended sites could be a signal of habitat restoration, because deermice prefer disturbed habitats rather than ones with high plant cover. Grass cover was more than twice as high on sites amended with biosolids, making these sites less suitable for deermice.     

Differential effects of local habitat and landscape characteristics on bird communities in Mediterranean afforestations motivated by the EU Common Agrarian Policy

We investigated the effects of local habitat structure and surrounding landscape characteristics (proportion of land use types and connectedness) on species density and composition of bird communities inhabiting the interior of young tree plantations on former cropland in central Spain, which were motivated by the Common Agrarian Policy. Variation of species density (number of species/0.78 ha) among tree plantations showed different environmental associations across seasons: local habitat was more important than landscape characteristics during winter, whereas they were similarly important during spring. Species density increased with the development of the tree layer in winter and with the presence of urban areas around tree plantations and cover of the herbaceous layer within them in the breeding season. We identified 15 species that exhibit high relative abundance in woodland habitats within the Mesomediterranean region of Central Spain that were absent in both seasons in the studied tree plantations, which were an attractive habitat for urban exploiter species but an unfavorable habitat for the regional forest species pool except for forest generalist species. Composition of bird assemblages was more related to local habitat structure than to landscape characteristics around tree plantations and was rather similar in winter and spring seasons. The very different effects of local habitat and landscape characteristics on bird communities make difficult suggesting management practices with positive effects for all avifauna species during the entire year. We conclude that the small size and low maturity of the studied tree plantations do not contribute to enhancing the bird diversity value of current CAP aids to afforest former cropland with pines in the Mediterranean region.     

Seashore in the mountain: limestone‐associated land snail fauna on the oceanic Hahajima Island (Ogasawara Islands,Western Pacific)

Because land snails inhabiting the seashore are most likely to be carried by ocean currents or by attaching to seabirds, land snail fauna on oceanic islands include species derived from the mainland ancestors inhabiting the seashore. If habitat use of the island descendants is constrained by the ecology of the mainland ancestor, the island species that moved from the coastal habitat to the inland habitat may still be restricted to relatively exposed microhabitats with high pH, calcium carbonate‐rich substrates, and poor litter cover. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the association between environmental conditions and species diversity of seashore‐derived species of the endemic land snails on the oceanic Hahajima Island (Ogasawara Islands). Seashore‐derived species showed higher species richness on limestone outcrops than non‐limestone areas, whereas the other species showed no significant increase in species richness in limestone outcrops. There was a higher proportion of seashore‐derived species on the limestone ridges than on the soil of dolines, even in the limestone area. Accordingly, the species derived from the seashore of the mainland are restricted to microhabitats with poor vegetation cover, poor litter cover, high pH, and calcium carbonate‐rich substrates, which supports the hypothesis that the inland species on an island derived from the mainland seashore still prefer environments similar to the seashore. In addition, the seashore‐derived species on the limestone outcrop include cave‐dwellers lacking functional eyes. This suggests that the probability of colonizing a cave environment is restricted to seashore‐derived species. The findings obtained in the present study suggest that habitat use of the ancestral lineages can constrain habitat use of the descendants, even in the oceanic islands with depauperate fauna. This bias in the species composition on the limestone outcrop constrains lineages that can colonize and adapt to the inside of caves, and therefore, habitat use of the ancestral lineages affects the ability of descendant lineages to colonize novel habitats. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102 , 686–693.     

Movement patterns of a specialist predator,the weasel<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mustela nivalis</Emphasis> exploiting asynchronous cyclic field vole<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus agrestis</Emphasis> populations

We investigated habitat selection and movement characteristics of male weaselsMustela nivalis Linnaeus, 1766 during the breeding season through radio-telemetry in Kielder Forest (KF) in order to assess how weasel movement is influenced by prey dynamics, mate searching and predation risk, and whether the scale of weasel movement corresponds to the spatial scale of the asynchronous, multi-annual vole population cycles observed in KF. Weasels used habitats with a high proportion of grass cover to a much larger extend than habitats with less grass cover and moved through the latter habitats faster and / or straighter. Habitats with high amounts of grass cover also had the highest field vole abundance, although total rodent abundance did not differ between habitats. The selection of this habitat by weasels might reflect weasels preferring field voles as prey or avoiding habitats with little grass cover and high intraguild predation risk. Five out of 8 male weasels radio-tracked had low day-to-day site fidelity and moved between different clear cuts. Three other males were resident in a single clear cut. This variation may reflect mate searching by male weasels. The observation that most weasels (5 out of 8) roamed over large areas and the scale of their dispersal potential suggests, that if they regulated vole populations, they should have a greater synchronising effect on the spatial scale of vole population dynamics than what is observed in vole populations in KF.     

Vascular plant species richness in relation to habitat diversity and island area in the Finnish Archipelago

Aim The aim of this study is to explore the interrelationships between island area, species number and habitat diversity in two archipelago areas. Location The study areas, Brunskär and Getskär, are located in an archipelago in south‐western Finland. Methods The study areas, 82 islands in Brunskär and 78 in Getskär, were classified into nine habitat types based on land cover. In the Brunskär area, the flora (351 species) was surveyed separately for each individual habitat on the islands. In the Getskär area, the flora (302 species) was surveyed on a whole‐island basis. We used standard techniques to analyse the species–area relationship on a whole‐island and a habitat level. We also tested our data for the small island effect (SIE) using breakpoint and path analysis models. Results Species richness was significantly associated with both island area and habitat diversity. Vegetated area in particular, defined as island area with the rock habitat subtracted, proved to be a strong predictor of species richness. Species number had a greater association with island area multiplied by the number of habitats than with island area or habitat number separately. The tests for a SIE in the species–area relationship showed the existence of a SIE in one of the island groups. No SIE could be detected for the species–vegetated area relationship in either of the island groups. The strength of the species–area relationship differed considerably between the habitats. Main conclusions The general principles of island biogeography apply well to the 160 islands in this study. Vascular plant diversity for small islands is strongly influenced by physiographic factors. For the small islands with thin and varying soil cover, vegetated area was the most powerful predictor of species richness. The species–area curves of various habitats showed large variations, suggesting that the measurement of habitat areas and establishment of habitat‐based species lists are needed to better understand species richness on islands. We found some evidence of a SIE, but it is debatable whether this is a ‘true’ SIE or a soil cover/habitat characteristics feature.     

A first assessment of the land management effect on the ecological role of large trees as habitat refuges for desert small mammals

Large old trees are keystone organisms that generate a highly connected network of interactions because they provide refuge and feeding sites to mammals with different habitat requirements through their under canopy structure and deadwood. In dry woodlands, these keystone trees are found within agricultural landscapes, where grazing and deadwood removal are the main subsistence activities carried out by local people. These activities can modify the structure of trees and, in turn, affect small mammal communities. Our objective was to assess how different land management types modify the structure of P. flexuosa trees, and to determine the effects of modified tree structure on the abundance and composition of small mammal communities. The study was conducted in P. flexuosa forests within a protected area and in grazing fields. We found that the trees and the vegetation structure beneath their canopies reflect the management history of areas. Trees in the protected area and in an abandoned field were structurally more similar to one another than were those in grazing fields with deadwood removal and, in turn, presented greater total abundances of small mammals. Under tree canopy, the amount of deadwood and grass cover favor the presence of species that need closed and more complex habitats. Also, protection provided by the trees was differentially perceived by species, according to their ecological requirements. We can conclude that different land management scenarios allow for the conservation of the whole rodent assemblage and that, the trees determine the presence of species, particularly of those needing more complex habitats.     

The impact of over 80 years of land cover changes on bee and wasp pollinator communities in England

Change in land cover is thought to be one of the key drivers of pollinator declines, and yet there is a dearth of studies exploring the relationships between historical changes in land cover and shifts in pollinator communities. Here, we explore, for the first time, land cover changes in England over more than 80 years, and relate them to concurrent shifts in bee and wasp species richness and community composition. Using historical data from 14 sites across four counties, we quantify the key land cover changes within and around these sites and estimate the changes in richness and composition of pollinators. Land cover changes within sites, as well as changes within a 1 km radius outside the sites, have significant effects on richness and composition of bee and wasp species, with changes in edge habitats between major land classes also having a key influence. Our results highlight not just the land cover changes that may be detrimental to pollinator communities, but also provide an insight into how increases in habitat diversity may benefit species diversity, and could thus help inform policy and practice for future land management.     

Habitat selection by a predator of rodent pests is resilient to wildfire in a vineyard agroecosystem

Conservation of uncultivated habitats can increase the potential for ecosystem services in agroecosystems, but these lands are also susceptible to wildfires in the arid western United States. In Napa Valley, California, abundant rodent pests and an interest in integrated pest management have led wine producers to use nest boxes to attract Barn Owls (Tyto furcata) to winegrape vineyards. The viability of this practice as a method to control rodent pests depends heavily on the amount of hunting effort that Barn Owls expend in vineyards, which is known to be influenced by the amount of uncultivated land cover types surrounding the nest box. Wildfires burned nearly 60,000 ha of mainly urban and uncultivated lands surrounding Napa Valley in 2017, altering Barn Owl habitats. We compared GPS tracking data from 32 Barn Owls nesting in 24 individual nest boxes before and after the fires to analyze their hunting habitat selection. Owls with burned areas available to them after the fires had home ranges that shifted toward the fires, but selection was not strongly associated with burned areas. Though there was some spatial use of burned areas, selection of land cover types was similar for birds before and after the fires and in burned and unburned areas. The strongest selection was for areas closest to the nest box, and most recorded locations were in grassland, though selection indicated that owls used land cover types in proportion to their availability. Overall, habitat selection was resilient to changes caused by wildfires. These results are important for farmers who use nest boxes as a means of rodent control, which may be affected after dramatic disturbance events, especially as wildfires increase in the western United States.     

Distribution of ground-dwelling beetles in fragmented tropical habitats

The conservation of biodiversity is increasingly dependent on human-altered habitats. In a fragmented forest landscape in northern Costa Rica within the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, an area of great conservation importance, we compared the diversity and composition of ground-dwelling beetle communities in five habitat types along a gradient of increasing disturbance: primary forest, logged forest, secondary forest, plantation (Gmelina arborea) and pasture. Using pitfall trapping we captured a total of 1,877 beetles (Coleoptera), comprising 422 morphospecies in 26 families. The plantation sites had the lowest number of species followed by secondary forest and pasture. Multivariate analysis separated the beetle fauna according to land use, and suggested that only the logged forest maintains a similar species assemblage to primary forest. However, each habitat harboured a number of unique species indicating the conservation value of the mosaic of habitats found in fragmented landscapes. Our results suggest that to maintain forest beetle species diversity it is essential that areas of natural forest are conserved. However, other land uses also provide beetle habitats and in fragmented areas active management to maintain a mosaic of land uses will contribute to the conservation of beetle diversity.     

Population growth and habitat distribution in cyclic small rodents: to expand or to change?

Habitat selection determined by intraspecific interactions (social behaviour), being either free or despotic, should result in the largest densities in the most favourable habitat at least in late increase and decline phases of cyclic populations. Habitat distribution determined by interspecific effects such as herbivore-plant or predator-prey interactions may result in higher densities in inferior habitats at late peaks and/or declines due to overgrazing of preferred habitats, or invasion of such habitats by specialist predators. An examination of the distributions of the rodent species Clethrionomys glareolus and Microtus agrestis during a population cycle on forest clearcuts at Grimsö, south-central Sweden, demonstrated clear changes towards less preferred habitats during the decline phase, particularly in M. agrestis. Intraspecific competition could be excluded as a cause since the numbers of both species declined simultaneously. There was no sign of overgrazing, while weasels, Mustela nivalis, invaded the preferred M. agrestis habitat during peak–decline. Predation thus appears more important for the local occurrence at early decline, rather than territoriality or other social behaviour. It is concluded that distributions in various habitats do not always reveal any primary habitat selection but, rather, habitat-dependent survival.     

Space and time distribution along a succesional gradient of coprofagous coleopterans (Scarabaeinae, Aphodiinae) fauna in a tropical mountain forest, Nariño, Colombia

Dung beetles (Scarabaeinae y Aphodiinae) were used to evaluate the effects of human activities in the area surrounding La Planada Natural Reserve, southwestern Colombia. During 1993 we monitored three habitats: primary and secondary forest, and open fields used for cattle grazing. A total of 55,296 trap/hours, evenly distributed among the three habitat types, captured 9,115 individuals (18 species, 11 genera). There were differences in species richness between habitats (F2,9 = 29.88; P < 0.001), an in number of individuals (F 2,9 = 36.22; P < 0.001). Collecting sites differed within habitats. Cluster analyses show that species composition differs between habitats with and without tree cover. Open areas act as barriers for movements of forest species. Differences between habitats and collecting sites may reflect high environmental heterogeneity, land use history of the sites or the influence of nearby disturbance. Some of the species found in open fields come from lower elevations and are usually associated with intense human disturbance. The proportion of digging and rolling species is similar in both primary and secondary forest, nocturnal species are more abundant; in open areas rolling species are absent and the number of diurnal species increases. We found no relationship between rainfall and species richness (r2 = 0.26; P = 0.41), nor between rainfall and number of individuals collected throughout the year (r2 = 0.07; P = 0.84). For all species the number of individuals collected decreased during dry season and during the onset of the rainy season.     

准噶尔盆地东南缘不同生境条件下梭梭群落结构特征研究

在新疆准噶尔盆地东南缘,以平缓低洼地、平缓沙地、半流动沙丘等3种不同生境类型上的天然梭梭群落为研究对象,从物种结构、物种多样性、生物量以及梭梭天然更新幼苗幼树种群分布格局等方面,研究不同生境条件下梭梭群落的结构特征.结果表明,以平缓低洼地上梭梭群落的植物种类最丰富,其次是平缓沙地,半流动沙丘上的植物种类最少.3种生境类型上群落中的植物种类分别为1种、15种和12种;梭梭天然更新幼苗幼树以半流动沙丘上的梭梭群落为最多,达 87株·hm^-2,但幼苗幼树在梭梭群落内分布不均匀,平缓低洼地上梭梭群落内的幼苗幼树比半流动沙丘上的略少,为5 799株·hm^-2,但幼苗幼树在梭梭群落内分布均匀,总体评价以平缓低洼地上梭梭群落的天然更新最好;平缓低洼地上梭梭群落的总生物量为19.39 t·hm^-2,平缓沙地上为9.32 t·hm^-2,半流动沙丘上为.9 t·hm^-2;不同生境类型上梭梭群落天然更新幼苗幼树的分布格局均为聚集分布.平缓低洼地地面固定,土壤水分和肥力较好,比较适宜梭梭林木生长和梭梭群落的发育,平缓沙地和半流动沙丘的地面容易产生风蚀,土壤水分和肥力较差,生境条件比较严酷.     

THE WATTLED CRANE BUGERANUS CARUNCULATUS (GMELIN)

The southern African endemic Short-clawed Lark Certhilauda chuana has two geographically isolated populations. Little is known about the smaller eastern population, which is restricted to the Polokwane Plateau, South Africa. To provide input for a conservation strategy for the eastern population, this study evaluated its habitat preference. Territories previously supporting Short-clawed Lark (1995–2005) were visited in the 2008/09 breeding season. Biophysical habitat parameters were measured at each site to determine the differences between active territories and those no longer active. Active territories had significantly less grass cover, more bare ground, shorter grass, smaller trees and had burned more recently. Bush encroachment and a reduction in the fire frequency were identified as serious threats to the Short-clawed Lark. However, overgrazing and harvesting of wood in rural areas may benefit the species.     

Habitat preferences and biomasses of small mammals in Swaziland

This paper describes the distribution and abundance of small mammals in Swaziland in relation to quantified habitat features. Eighteen habitat sites were sampled at seven different locations in all four geographical regions of Swaziland. Small mammal diversity (as described by the Shannon diversity index) was positively correlated with vegetation density. A total of twelve species of rodents and seven species of shrews were captured; however, only six species were caught at more than three sites. Small mammal biomasses and densities were highest at the highveld and middleveld sites. Tall grassland at all elevations supported a high diversity of small mammals. Highveld montane forest supported a high biomass and diversity of species, while no species were captured in moist forest in the Lubombo mountains.     

Habitat and integration within indigenous communities of Xeropicta derbentina (Gastropoda: Hygromiidae) a recently introduced land snail in south-eastern France

Xeropicta derbentina is a recently introduced land snail in Provence, France. The present work aims at describing the habitats and the land snail communities that it has invaded. Also, its impact on the species richness and diversity of indigenous communities is assessed. Two areas have been studied in order to cover the range of conditions that X. derbentina is encountering within its current French distribution. Sixty‐five samples were analysed from the most Mediterranean site, Auriol, and 140 from a northern site, Craus de St‐Michel‐l’Observatoire. From these samples, X. derbentina is found to be a thermophilous open‐land species mostly inhabiting human‐impacted habitats. It occurs in large populations (more than 100 individuals collected in 15 min) in habitat characterizing the first stages of secondary successions, from cultivated crops to dense fallow lands. However, within a heterogeneous landscape and if enough time has allowed its dispersal, X. derbentina can be found in almost any kinds of habitat, such as garrigues and woodlands. Consequently, X. derbentina occurs in diverse land snail communities. At the local scale, its large populations could result in a significant decrease in species richness and diversity. At the regional scale, however, the introduction of X. derbentina seems to have increased land snail species richness.     

洞庭湖洲滩及滨湖区鼠类分布格局及其多样性

为全面了解洞庭湖洲滩及滨湖区鼠类分布格局,统计自2003—2013年该湖区15个调查点5种不同生境的鼠类群落调查数据,并对鼠类群落的物种多样性进行分析。结果表明:2003—2013年洞庭湖区捕获鼠类有10种,主要优势种为黑线姬鼠(Apodemus agrarius)和东方田鼠(Microtus fortis);不同生境下的优势种不同,东方田鼠为湖滩生境优势种,黑线姬鼠是滨湖农田和退田还湖洲滩生境优势种,针毛鼠(Niviventer fulvescens)和社鼠(Niviventer confucianus)为滨湖丘岗林地优势种,小家鼠(Mus musculus)及黄胸鼠(Rattus tanzumi)则多出现在农房生境;不同生境的鼠类群落物种多样性不同,滨湖丘岗林地生境受人类活动或洪水干扰程度最低,因此,优势集中性指数最低,而物种多样性Shannon-Wiener指数在干扰较少的滨湖丘岗林地生境物种多样性指数最高。尽管湖滩生境受三峡工程的影响,物种数大量增加,但由于仍受汛期洪涝的干扰,依然具有优势种突出的特征。研究表明,人类社会活动或洪涝等干扰因素降低了鼠类群落物种多样性,致使优势种突出,形成只利于少数几个种群栖息的环境,最终导致种群大暴发。