BOOK of ABSTRACTS

BOOK  of  ABSTRACTS 14th    Rodens  et  Spatium International  Conference  on  Rodent  Biology

Lisbon,  28th  july  -­‐  2nd  august  2014

Are!wood!mice!fewer!and!less!fit!near!roads?! Ana" Galantinho1,2,3," Sofia" Eufrázio1,3," Carmo" Silva1,3," Filipe" Carvalho1,3," Russell" AlpizarVJara4" &" António"Mira1,3" "Unidade"de"Biologia"da"Conservação,"Departamento"de"Biologia,"Universidade"de"Évora,"Núcleo"da"Mitra,"7002V554"Évora,"Portugal;" 2" FEC" V" Funcionamento" dos" Ecossistemas" e" Conservação," ICAAM" V" Instituto" de" Ciências" Agrárias" e" Ambientais" Mediterrânicas." Universidade" de" Évora," Pólo" da" Mitra," 7002V554" Évora," Portugal;" 3" CIBIO/InBioVUE" V" Centro" de" Investigação" em" Biodiversidade" e" Recursos"Genéticos,"Universidade"de"Évora,"Pólo"de"Évora,"Casa"do"Cordovil"2º"Andar,"7000V890"Évora,"Portugal;" 4"CIMAVU.E."V"Centro" de"Investigação"em"Matemática"e"Aplicações,"Departamento"de"Matemática,"Universidade"de"Évora,"Rua"Romão"Ramalho"59,"7000V671" Évora,"Portugal" 1

Evidence"that"roads"have"mainly"positive"or"neutral"effects"on"small"mammals"has"been"gathered"recently" despite"the"fact"that"these"species"are"one"of"the"most"road"killed"mammal"groups."Most"of"the"previously" positive" documented" effects" of" roads" were" mainly" due" to" abundance" evaluations" in" habitats" under" high" grazing" or" agricultural" pressure" what" may" have" masked" negative" effects" on" other" traits" that" could" compromise" longVterm" persistence" of" populations." We" tested" the" effect" of" a" low" traffic" national" road" on" several" population" traits" of" the" wood" mouse" (Apodemus$sylvaticus)" on" a" well" preserved" habitat." We" used" captureVmarkVrecapture"techniques"to"compare"populations"of"two"areas"16"km"apart"–"an"area"bisected"by" a" road" and" a" road" less" area" V" both" embedded" on" a" montado" system." To" estimate" abundance," survival" and" temporary"emigration,"we"used"Pollock’s"robust"design"models."We"also"tested"turnover,"age"structure,"sex" ratio"and"body"condition."Abundance"and"body"condition"were"significantly"lower"at"the"road"area"but"the" remaining"traits"were"similar"between"areas."Lower"available"resources"due"to"roadside"vegetation"clearing" and"the"road"itself"coupled"with"stress"induced"by"traffic"might"be"responsible"for"the"lower"population"size" and" condition." Lower" predator" pressure" near" the" road" may" have" compensated" the" presumed" higher" mortality" by" vehicle" collisions." Our" work" suggests" that" roads" are" suboptimal" habitats" for" small" mammals" and"the"higher"abundance"often"reported"might"not"be"a"universal"pattern"and"rather"depends"on"the"level" of"modification"of"the"surrounding"landscape." "

Estimating! vole! population! densities! in! patchy! environments! using! SECR! models:!A!comparison!of!liveHtrapping!and!nonHinvasive!genetic!sampling! Helena" SabinoVMarques1,2," Clara" M." Ferreira3,4," Ricardo" Pita1," Joana" Paupério3," Pedro" Costa1,5," Soraia"Barbosa3,4,6,"Cláudia"Encarnação1,5,"Russell"AlpizarVJara7,"Paulo"Célio"Alves3,4,"Pedro"Beja3"&" António"Mira1,2,5" "InBio/CIBIOVUE,"University"of"Évora,"Évora,"Portugal;" 2"Biology"Department,"University"of"Évora,"Évora,"Portugal;" 3"InBio/CIBIOVUP," University"of"Porto,"Vairão,"Portugal;"4"Biology"Department,"University"of"Porto,"Porto,"Portugal;" 5"ICAAM,"University"of"Évora,"Évora," Portugal;" 6" Department" of" Ecology" and" Evolutionary" Biology," Cornell" University," Ithaca," USA;" 7" CIMA," University" of" Évora," Évora," Portugal" 1

Population"density"is"a"key"parameter"to"assess"the"status"of"threatened"species."However,"accurate"density" estimates" are" often" difficult" to" obtain," particularly" in" the" case" of" rare" and" patchily" distributed" species," for" which" sampling" is" constrained" by" time," finance," and" manpower." Knowledge" of" the" most" costVeffective" sampling" and" modelling" techniques" is" thus" of" critical" importance" to" monitor" animal" populations" of" conservation" concern." Here" we" address" this" issue" by" comparing" density" estimates" of" Cabrera" voles" occupying" a" network" of" habitat" patches" in" Mediterranean" farmland," obtained" from" two" distinct" sampling" techniques"involving"different"efforts"and"logistics:"liveVtrapping"and"nonVinvasive"genetic"sampling."We"set" 371"traps"in"23"occupied"habitat"patches"within"a"78Vha"area,"and"captured"animals"during"11"consecutive" days." We" then" collected" systematically" freshVfaeces" in" occupied" patches" during" four" consecutive" days," and" identified"‘captured’"animals"by"genotyping"a"set"of"11"microsatellites"developed"for"nonVinvasive"samples." Analysis" based" on" spatiallyVexplicitVcaptureVrecapture" (SECR)" models" indicated" that" the" nonVinvasive" genetic" data" in" general" provided" estimates" larger" than" those" provided" from" liveVtrapping," suggesting" that" the" choice" of" the" sampling" technique" may" critically" affect" population" density" estimates," and" that" nonV invasive"genetic"sampling"may"provide"a"useful"alternative"approach"to"monitor"rodent"metapopulations." 80"

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