Snow evens fragmentation effects and food determines overwintering success in ground-dwelling voles

摘要: Climate instability strongly affects overwintering conditions in organisms living a seasonal environment and consequently their survival population dynamics. Food, predation density effects are also strong during winter, but the effect of fragmentation ground vegetation on ground-dwelling small mammals is unknown. Here, we report results winter experiment habitat food experimental populations bank voles Myodes glareolus. The study was conducted large outdoor enclosures containing one large, two medium-sized or four patches total enclosure area covered with protective tall-grass habitat. During stable snow cover midwinter, only affected success, body condition, trappability earlier onset breeding voles. However, after thaw spring, gained importance again, activities increased movements most fragmented use an open, risky matrix along fragmentation. Our showed that long-lasting protects individuals otherwise exposed habitats. We conclude climate should even out mammals. prolonged snow-free early spring thaw, this means loss protection by both terms thermoregulation predation. Thus, important for boreal non-breeding season.