The impact of feral mink Mustela vison on water voles Arvicola terrestris in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park

Abstract

This study explores mink-water vole interactions on five of the principal rivers in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, in an area where mink are still spreading. It uses a variety of techniques—tracking (field signs), trapping and radio-tracking—at a range of 38 sites that differed in average water vole and mink abundances over two years, in conjunction with a longer term four-year study at one site on the river Esk under active colonisation by mink. The overall conclusion is unavoidable. Mink pose a serious threat to the long-term survival of water vole populations, at least in the North Yorkshire Moors study area.