title: Negative effects of density on space use of small mammals differ with the phase of the masting-induced population cycle.
abstract: Home range size generally decreases with increasing population density, but testing how this relationship is influenced by other factors (e.g., food availability, kin structure) is a difficult task. We used spatially explicit capture-recapture models to examine how home range size varies with population density in the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis). The relationship between population density and home range size was studied at two distinct phases of population fluctuations induced by beech (Fagus sylvatica) masting: post-mast peak in abundance (first summer after mast,n= 2) and subsequent crash (second summer after mast,n= 2). We live-trapped mice from June to September to avoid the confounding effects of autumn seedfall on home range size. In accordance with general predictions, we found that home range size was negatively associated with population density. However, after controlling for the effect of density, home ranges of mice were larger in post-mast years than during the crash phase. This indicates a higher spatial overlap among neighbors in post-mast years. We suggest that the increased spatial overlap is caused by negative density-dependent dispersal that leads to high relatedness of individuals within population in the peak phase of the cycle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Systematic Zoology Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań Poland.
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bogdziewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Systematic Zoology Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań Poland.
authors.forename: Rafał
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zwolak
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology Tufts University Medford MA USA.
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Redosh
authors.affiliation: Department of Systematic Zoology Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań Poland.
authors.forename: Leszek
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rychlik
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology Tufts University Medford MA USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Crone
keywords: density dependence; home range; mast seeding; population cycles; space use; spatially explicit capture recapture