Coexisting small mammals display contrasting strategies for tolerating instability in arable habitat

Small mammal species are abundant and common throughout Europe and often utilise areas that are subject to agricultural land use. Arable farmland is an example of a frequently disturbed habitat, and this study questioned how such disturbance affected the two most common species in the region; one a habitat generalist and one a habitat specialist. We confirmed the prediction that wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus, a habitat generalist) would make use of a variety of habitats and that bank voles (Myodes glareolus, a habitat specialist) would make greater use of the more stable portions of the study site. We surveyed the study site intensively in order to test whether there was continuity in the spatial arrangement of individuals of both species, given the strategy employed. The spatial arrangement of wood mice varied with season but remained stable for bank voles. We found no association, positive or negative, between the spatial distributions of the two species, suggesting that spatial competitive exclusion did not occur. This work provides further insight into how these small mammal species are affected by agricultural disturbance and predictions can be made about how the species will respond under CAP Reform greening practices.