Water voles select and overexploit high-quality habitats, hindering future colonisations: Evidence from drone-based monitoring of dandelion-vole interactions in mountain meadows

Water voles select and overexploit high-quality habitats, hindering future colonisations: Evidence from drone-based monitoring of dandelion-vole interactions in mountain meadows | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 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Data may be preliminary. 9 January 2025 V1 Latest version Share on Water voles select and overexploit high-quality habitats, hindering future colonisations: Evidence from drone-based monitoring of dandelion-vole interactions in mountain meadows Authors : Marion Buronfosse 0009-0008-3976-0425 , Hélène Lisse , Geoffroy Couval , Aurélien Levret , François Gillet 0000-0002-3334-1069 , Virginie Lattard 0000-0002-3371-0952 , and pinot adrien 0000-0001-5786-203X [email protected] Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173641467.77187625/v1 260 views 169 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Like many rodents, the water vole is able to reach high densities in meadows. During outbreaks, voles cause significant changes in plants communities. Although water voles consume a wide variety of plant species, dandelion hold a unique position: it is selected by voles year-round and serve as a key resource during winter. Voles harvest all parts of the dandelion and store the roots in almost monospecific food stores. As dandelions are perennial plants that take years to growth, vole activity may significantly affect dandelion populations. Our aim was to estimate the influence of dandelion density on vole space use, particularly on habitat selection during natal dispersal. We tested the hypothesis that voles select dandelion-rich plots for settlements. We also measured the variation in dandelion density due to new colonies settlements to assess potential feedback effects. We hypothesised that voles decrease dandelion populations. To achieve that, we used a drone to monitor dandelions and voles over two years. We monitored 52 quadrats, each half a hectare, three times a year. We analysed each image using remote sensing to locate voles and dandelions and then examined the interactions between their locations over time. We found that dandelion-rich plots were more likely to be colonised. In plots with low dandelion density, areas denser than the plot average were also more likely to be colonised. We observed a decrease in the number of dandelions after colony settlement. At last, we found evidence that existing burrows were more likely to be reused by new voles if dandelions were still present. 4- This study demonstrates that dandelion density is a key criterion in habitat selection for water voles and that vole colonies rapidly deplete this resource Supplementary Material File (main_text_ecologyandevolution.docx) Download 516.48 KB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 09 January 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Collection Ecology and Evolution Keywords behavioral ecology method development natural history terrestrial vertebrate Authors Affiliations Marion Buronfosse 0009-0008-3976-0425 VetAgro Sup View all articles by this author Hélène Lisse VetAgro Sup - Campus Agronomique de Clermont View all articles by this author Geoffroy Couval FREDON Bourgogne Franche-Comté View all articles by this author Aurélien Levret FREDON Bourgogne Franche-Comté View all articles by this author François Gillet 0000-0002-3334-1069 Université de Franche-Comté View all articles by this author Virginie Lattard 0000-0002-3371-0952 VetAgro Sup View all articles by this author pinot adrien 0000-0001-5786-203X [email protected] VetAgro Sup - Campus Agronomique de Clermont View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 260 views 169 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Marion Buronfosse, Hélène Lisse, Geoffroy Couval, et al. Water voles select and overexploit high-quality habitats, hindering future colonisations: Evidence from drone-based monitoring of dandelion-vole interactions in mountain meadows. Authorea . 09 January 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.173641467.77187625/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . Format Please select one from the list RIS (ProCite, Reference Manager) EndNote BibTex Medlars RefWorks Direct import Tips for downloading citations document.getElementById('citMgrHelpLink').addEventListener('click', function() { popupHelp(this.href); return false; }); $(".js__slcInclude").on("change", function(e){ if ($(this).val() == 'refworks') $('#direct').prop("checked", false); $('#direct').prop("disabled", ($(this).val() == 'refworks')); }); Cited by Aitor Somoano, Luis Varona, Antonio Rubio, Carlos Tarragona, Ana del Cerro, Large-scale remote sensing model enables an integrated monitoring approach for high-resolution tracking pest vole populations, Scientific Reports, 15 , 1, (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-25091-4 Crossref Loading... View Options View options PDF View PDF Figures Tables Media Share Share Share article link Copy Link Copied! Copying failed. 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