title: How maize monoculture and increasing winter rainfall have brought the hibernating European hamster to the verge of extinction.
abstract: Over the last decades, climate change and agricultural intensification have been identified as two major phenomena negatively affecting biodiversity. However, little is known about their effects on the life-history traits of hibernating species living in agro-ecosystems. The European hamster (Cricetus cricetus), once a common rodent on agricultural land, is now on the verge of extinction in France. Despite the implemented measures for its protection, populations are still in sharp decline but the reasons for it remain unclear. To investigate how environmental change has affected this hibernating rodent, we used a data set based on 1468 recordings of hamster body mass at emergence from hibernation from 1937 to 2014. We reveal the adverse effects of increasing winter rainfall and maize monoculture intensification on the body mass of wild hamsters. Given the links that exist between body mass, reproductive success and population dynamics in mammals, these results are of particular importance to understand the decline of this species. In view of the rates of maize monoculture intensification and the predicted increase in winter rainfall, it is of the utmost importance to improve land management in Western Europe to avoid the extinction of this species.
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue Becquerel 67087 Strasbourg, Cedex 2, France.|CNRS, UMR7178, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Mathilde L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Tissier
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue Becquerel 67087 Strasbourg, Cedex 2, France.|CNRS, UMR7178, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Handrich
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue Becquerel 67087 Strasbourg, Cedex 2, France.|CNRS, UMR7178, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Patrice
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Robin
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue Becquerel 67087 Strasbourg, Cedex 2, France.|CNRS, UMR7178, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weitten
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR7168, Institut des Neurosciences Cellulaires et Intégratives, Département de Neurobiologie des Rythmes, 5 rue Blaise Pascal, 67084 Strasbourg, Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pevet
authors.affiliation: Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Au bord du Rhin, 67150 Gerstheim, France.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kourkgy
authors.affiliation: Université de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue Becquerel 67087 Strasbourg, Cedex 2, France.|CNRS, UMR7178, 67087 Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Habold
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D057231:Climate Change; D006224:Cricetinae / Q000254:growth & development*; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D005602:France; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012621:Seasons; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development*