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New Data on the Pygmy Field Mouse ( Apodemus Uralensis ) Distribution and Habitats in Lithuania

2001; Institute of Ecology of Vilnius University; Volume: 11; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13921657.2001.10512469

1648-6919

Rimvydas Juškaitis, Kazimieras Baranauskas, Reda Mažeikytė, Alius Ulevičius,

Mollusks and Parasites Studies

Pygmy field mouse (Apodemus uralensis) was identified as a new mammal species in Lithuania only in 1999. Despite that, many new localities of this species were discovered in northwestern and western Lithuania during 1999–2000: in Žemaitija National Park, Kurtuvėnai and Varniai regional parks, Kamanos strict nature reserve and almost on all the territory of Mažeikiai administrative district. A total of 62 individuals of A. uralensis were captured in 33 localities in 1996–2000. The collected data on A. uralensis dwelling places prove that it is an ‘ecotonic’ species most often residing on the edges of forests and in open habitats bordering on forests. The greatest number of these mice were captured in the ecotones of forests and open habitats (meadows, cornfields and fallow fields) and in open habitats bordering on forests or situated close to them (natural meadows overgrown with shrubs, grass-covered reclamation canals, cornfields). Rather few mice of this species were captured in forests, most often close to their edges and in coppices. Solitary individuals of A. uralensis were detected in open places, at a distance of more than 0.5 km from forests.