1. Weak evidence of spatial segregation between the vulnerable southern water vole ( Arvicola sapidus ) and the two main invasive mammals of European freshwater ecosystems
- Author
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Alexandre Millon, Bastien Thomas, Agathe Leriche, Emilie Ladent, Grp Mammal Normand, Epaignes, France, Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (IMBE), and Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Spatial segregation ,Ecology ,biology ,native species ,nested spatial scales ,15. Life on land ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Freshwater ecosystem ,invasive species ,010601 ecology ,Ondatra zibethicus ,Geography ,[SDE]Environmental Sciences ,Arvicola ,Myocastor coypus ,habitat segregation ,14. Life underwater ,Water vole ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics - Abstract
International audience; Niche differentiation by spatial segregation facilitates the coexistence of species sharing ecological preferences, which can buffer the impact of biological invasions on native species. The introduction of two semi-aquatic rodents, the coypu Myocastor coypus and the muskrat Ondatra zibethicus, to most freshwater ecosystems across Western Europe, has been pinpointed as a cause for the decline of the southern water vole (SWV) Arvicola sapidus. We investigated the co-occurrence of these three species in a river catchment of northwest France and whether spatial habitat segregation took place at two spatial scales, using hierarchical modelling accounting for imperfect detection. At a large spatial scale (river catchment), the occupancy rate of the SWV was 0.52 +/- 0.06, i.e. noticeably smaller compared to coypu (0.58) and muskrat (0.80). We found no evidence of a negative effect of the presence of the two invasive rodents on SWV occurrence. At a smaller spatial scale (SWV home range), we found weak evidence of spatial segregation in habitat use with a negative, although not significant, effect of muskrat. Overall, our results suggest that riparian habitats in the study area allow the southern water vole to coexist with two larger invasive rodents, provided that hygrophytic vegetation is preserved alongside rivers
- Published
- 2021
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