@article{HoffmannSchirmerEccard2019,
  author    = {Hoffmann, Julia and Schirmer, Annika and Eccard, Jana},
  title     = {Light pollution affects space use and interaction of two small mammal species irrespective of personality},
  series = {BMC Ecology},
  volume    = {19},
  journal   = {BMC Ecology},
  publisher = {BioMed Central},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {1472-6785},
  doi       = {10.1186/s12898-019-0241-0},
  pages     = {11},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Background: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is one form of human-induced rapid environmental changes (HIREC) and is strongly interfering with natural dark-light cycles. Some personality types within a species might be better suited to cope with environmental change and therefore might be selected upon under ongoing urbanization. Results: We used LED street lamps in a large outdoor enclosure to experimentally investigate the effects of ALAN on activity patterns, movement and interaction of individuals of two species, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) and the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius). We analyzed effects combined with individual boldness score. Both species reduced their activity budget during daylight hours. While under natural light conditions home ranges were larger during daylight than during nighttime, this difference vanished under ALAN. Conspecifics showed reduced home range overlap, proximity and activity synchrony when subjected to nighttime illumination. Changes in movement patterns in reaction to ALAN were not associated with differences in boldness score of individuals. Conclusions: Our results suggest that light pollution can lead to changes in movement patterns and individual interactions in small mammals. This could lead to fitness consequences on the population level.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LiesenjohannLiesenjohannPalmeetal.2013,
  author    = {Liesenjohann, Monique and Liesenjohann, Thilo and Palme, Rupert and Eccard, Jana},
  title     = {Differential behavioural and endocrine responses of common voles (Microtus arvalis) to nest predators and resource competitors},
  series = {BMC ecology},
  volume    = {13},
  journal   = {BMC ecology},
  number    = {17},
  publisher = {BioMed Central},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {1472-6785},
  doi       = {10.1186/1472-6785-13-33},
  pages     = {10},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Background: Adaptive behavioural strategies promoting co-occurrence of competing species are known to result from a sympatric evolutionary past. Strategies should be different for indirect resource competition (exploitation, e.g., foraging and avoidance behaviour) than for direct interspecific interference (e.g., aggression, vigilance, and nest guarding). We studied the effects of resource competition and nest predation in sympatric small mammal species using semi-fossorial voles and shrews, which prey on vole offspring during their sensitive nestling phase. Experiments were conducted in caged outdoor enclosures. Focus common vole mothers (Microtus arvalis) were either caged with a greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) as a potential nest predator, with an herbivorous field vole (Microtus agrestis) as a heterospecific resource competitor, or with a conspecific resource competitor. Results: We studied behavioural adaptations of vole mothers during pregnancy, parturition, and early lactation, specifically modifications of the burrow architecture and activity at burrow entrances. Further, we measured pre- and postpartum faecal corticosterone metabolites (FCMs) of mothers to test for elevated stress hormone levels. Only in the presence of the nest predator were prepartum FCMs elevated, but we found no loss of vole nestlings and no differences in nestling body weight in the presence of the nest predator or the heterospecific resource competitor. Although the presence of both the shrew and the field vole induced prepartum modifications to the burrow architecture, only nest predators caused an increase in vigilance time at burrow entrances during the sensitive nestling phase. Conclusion: Voles displayed an adequate behavioural response for both resource competitors and nest predators. They modified burrow architecture to improve nest guarding and increased their vigilance at burrow entrances to enhance offspring survival chances. Our study revealed differential behavioural adaptations to resource competitors and nest predators.},
  language  = {en}
}