Apodemus Flavicollis Research Articles

Holocene mammals (Insectivora, Rodentia, Chiroptera) of Dollsteinhola Cave, Western Norway

The Dolisteinhola cave comprises a sequence of Holocene deposits dating from the late Atlanticum to the first half of the Subboreal period. Climate-sensitive species were found in layers V (Sciurus vulgaris) and layers II - III, IV, IV - V (Apodemus flavicollis). Two humerus of Barbastella barbastellus were also recognised. The faunal assemblage were grouped in three climatic complexes: species which lived both in cold and warm climates; species connected with warmer phases of the climate and species typical for a cold climate.

Different life strategies of closely related louse species in sympatry: specialist and “generalist“ lineages of Polyplax serrata

The origin and significance of host specificity are intriguing questions in parasitology. In the case of single-host versus multiple-host parasites, this topic integrates with the concept of the specialist/generalist trade-off. We use the model of sucking lice Polyplax serrata and rodent hosts Apodemus, to address these concepts. Polyplax serrata was shown to form a complex genetic structure, with a strictly specific S lineage living on Apodemus flavicollis, and a less specific N lineage on A. flavicollis and Apodemus sylvaticus. Moreover, the S lineage formed two mitochondrial clades with geographically exclusive distributions and a narrow hybrid zone, providing an opportunity to test the hypothesis that hybrids suffer a decrease in fitness. We sampled 451 individual lice from two host species at 103 localities. We used prevalences and intensities as proxies of fitness, which the parasites realize on their host. The S lineage, strictly specific to Apodemus flavicollis, reached significantly higher prevalences and intensities on its host compared with the N lineage. Conversely, the N lineage occurred with high prevalence and intensity on A. sylvaticus but tended to use also A. flavicollis when the louse populations became too dense. We discuss possible mechanisms behind this difference (particularly interspecific competition as a typical phenomenon in the specialist/generalist systems). We conclude that a parasite’s “choice”, not accessibility of the host or interspecific competition, is the main factor affecting the louse prevalences. We suggest that historical differences in geographic distribution of both lice and mice may provide a possible explanation for the observed life strategy differences. In contrast to the convincing picture in S and N lineage prevalences, we did not detect an expected drop in fitness in hybrids. We consider instability of the hybrid zone, or decline in abundance of the respective hosts, as possible explanations for this result.

Fur microbiome as a putative source of symbiotic bacteria in sucking lice

Symbiosis between insects and bacteria has been established countless times. While it is well known that the symbionts originated from a variety of different bacterial taxa, it is usually difficult to determine their environmental source and a route of their acquisition by the host. In this study, we address this question using a model of Neisseriaceae symbionts in rodent lice. These bacteria established their symbiosis independently with different louse taxa (Polyplax, Hoplopleura, Neohaematopinus), most likely from the same environmental source. We first applied amplicon analysis to screen for candidate source bacterium in the louse environment. Since lice are permanent ectoparasites, often specific to the particular host, we screened various microbiomes associated with three rodent species (Microtus arvalis, Clethrionomys glareolus, and Apodemus flavicollis). The analyzed samples included fur, skin, spleen, and other ectoparasites sampled from these rodents. The fur microbiome data revealed a Neisseriaceae bacterium, closely related to the known louse symbionts. The draft genomes of the environmental Neisseriaceae, assembled from all three rodent hosts, converged to a remarkably small size of approximately 1.4 Mbp, being even smaller than the genomes of the related symbionts. Our results suggest that the rodent fur microbiome can serve as a source for independent establishment of bacterial symbiosis in associated louse species. We further propose a hypothetical scenario of the genome evolution during the transition of a free-living bacterium to the member of the rodent fur-associated microbiome and subsequently to the facultative and obligate louse symbionts.

Association between Outlying Values in Body Condition Indices in Small Mammals and Their Habitats

Habitat type and habitat change are very important factors in the body condition of small mammals that inhabit them. The response can be positive, increasing, or the opposite, decreasing body condition. We analyzed outliers of the body condition indices (BCIs) of 12 species trapped in nine different habitats during 1980–2023 in Lithuania, a mid-latitude country. Mixed and fragmented habitats, as well as commensal habitats, could be considered the least suitable for small mammals, based on the highest proportions of underfit and low proportions of best-fit individuals. On the contrary, meadows and disturbed habitats (landfills and cormorant colonies) had the highest proportions of best-fit individuals, while the proportion of under-fit individuals was much lower than expected. We found outliers in the BCI in all species, except for the under-fit harvest mice (Micromys minutus), and in all habitats, though not numerous. The presence of the highest BCI in yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis) and bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) in the disturbed habitats studied and in house mice (Mus musculus) in commensal habitats may be related to the resources provided by these habitats. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using retrospective small mammal morphometric data to analyze their relationship with habitat.

Food selection of tree seeds under three-week laboratory conditions in the bank vole and yellow-necked mouse

Food selection of tree seeds under three-week laboratory conditions in the bank vole and yellow-necked mouse

The nature of vegetation cover and small mammal community structure (on the example of Nizhny Novgorod)

The spatial distribution of Apodemus species (yellow-necked, field, and small forest mice) was studied on the example of the protected area «Oak forest of National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod Botanical Garden». Twelve plant associations with non-moral character and representing derivatives of the indigenous type of vegetation were studied. Environmental conditions assessed by the Ellenberg phytoindication method affect the distribution of small mammals in space indirectly. The nature of vegetation cover is more significant. When projective cover increases, the abundance of both small woodland and field mice increases. The strategy of Apodemus agrarius appears to be similar to that of Apodemus uralensis, a species that shows stenobiontic traits in the studied PA. At the same time, insignificant anthropogenic load, a marker of which is the presence of Urtica dioica ruderal species, leads to an increase in the mosaic of vegetation cover, which has a positive effect on the abundance of these small mammal species. A moderate increase in the Berger-Parker dominance index for vegetation cover is positively associated with the confinement of micromammals. In addition, in the conditions of the recreational zone of the upland part of N. Novgorod, Apodemus agrarius prefers areas of old-growth broadleaved forest, not showing the features of anthropophily.

Seed Availability and Small Mammal Populations: Insights from Mediterranean Forests

Plant–animal interactions play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning, especially through seed dispersal mechanisms. Understanding how small mammal populations respond to seed availability is essential for ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation, especially in the context of habitat loss and climate change. We conducted a 10-year study in mixed Mediterranean oak–beech forests to investigate the population dynamics of common small mammal species in response to seed availability. Our findings revealed distinct responses among species, influenced by life history traits, foraging behaviour, and diet. Wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) showed a rapid population increase with seed availability both in the same year of seed fall and the following year, suggesting a flexible foraging strategy and a dependence on arboreal seed producers. Yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis) revealed immediate population increases in response to seed availability in the autumn, probably because of their arboreal habits and preference for exploiting seeds prior to maturation. Bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) showed responses with population peaks in years following high seed availability, indicating a slower demographic response to resource abundance. Surprisingly, the greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) responded indirectly to seed availability in Mediterranean forests, suggesting complex interactions with seed-associated invertebrates or dependence on other variables not considered. Our findings highlight the importance of understanding how changes in seed availability influence the population ecology of small mammals, with significant implications for the conservation and management of Mediterranean forest ecosystems in the context of climate change and recurrent droughts. These results emphasise the need to consider species interactions, resource availability, and climate change in the conservation and management of evolving ecosystems.

Catch me if you can: free-living mice show a highly flexible dodging behaviour suggestive of intentional tactical deception.

Intentional tactical deception, the employment of a tactic to intentionally deceive another animal, is a complex behaviour based on higher-order cognition, that has rarely been documented outside of primates and corvids. New laboratory-to-field assays, however, provide the opportunity to investigate such behaviour among free-living mice. In the present study, we placed laboratory-style test chambers with a single entrance near a forest outside Warsaw, where we observed the social interactions of two territorial murids, black-striped and yellow-necked mice, under food competition for seven months. Notably, among the social interactions, we video-recorded 21 instances of deceptive pursuer evasion. In the most obvious cases, an individual inside the chamber, to avoid an incoming mouse, hid by the chamber opening (the only means to enter or exit), paused until the pursuer entered and passed by, and then exploited the distraction of the back-turned pursuer by fleeing through the opening in a direction opposite to the one the pursuer came from. This deceptive dodging is the first evidence of a behaviour suggestive of intentional tactical deception among mice. As such, this deceptive behaviour may be of interest not only for rodent psychology but also, more generally, for the fields of non-human intentionality and theory of mind.

Impact of environmental factors on small mammals and their fleas

Abstract Small mammals in the Horšianska dolina-Valley were researched first in 1984–86 and later in 2016–19. This paper seeks to identify and assess the species composition and dynamics of fleas (Siphonaptera) found in the valley on small mammals of Rodentia and Eulipotyphla and to compare findings from these two periods separated by thirty years. The results indicated deviations in small mammal and flea community similarity as well as in the small mammal indicator species for each habitat and flea indicator species for the small mammal species. A total 12 different species of small mammals were captured, and 12 flea species were collected. Eight flea species were detected in 1984–86 and ten species were found in 2016–19. In both periods A. penicilliger, C. assimilis, C. solutus, D. dasycnema, N. fasciatus were captured. The differences were that in the earlier period, the species uncovered were C. congener, P. bidentata, and P. soricis, while in the later period they were C. agyrtes, C. bisoctodentatus, M. turbidus, and R. integella. In the relationship between fleas and small mammals, C. solutus was the specific species for Apodemus flavicollis, while A. penicilliger and C. agyrtes were for Clethrionomys glareolus, and C. assimilis was for Microtus arvalis.

Угруповання мишовидих гризунів на ділянках з різним ступенем ураження пожежами: чорнобильські полігони

As a result of climate change, forest fires are becoming a common factor in the dynamics of ecosystems in the forest zone of Ukraine, but the assessment of the consequences of this shift in the ecological situation is in the process of pilot studies. In the spring of 2020, a number of large ecosystem fires occurred in the Central Polissia region, which affected forests the most. Among other things, a large fire occurred in ecosystems located in the Exclusion Zone and the Zone of Unconditional (Mandatory) Resettlement, which was formed as a result of the Chornobyl accident. The ecosystems of the Chornobyl Radiological and Ecological Biosphere Reserve located within its boundaries were also affected by the fire. The consequences of this fire were assessed a year later, using mouse-like rodents as a model group. The purpose of the study was to assess and compare the communities of mouse-like rodents in areas that were affected by two degrees of fire damage—where there was a surface fire and those that were most affected (highland fire). Four polygons were created in the control-impact scheme. Each of the pairs of plots was identical in terms of typical forest vegetation conditions. Sherman traps were used for trapping. A total of 560 trap-days were processed, and 101 animals were captured. The presence of four species of rodents from the genera Apodemus, Sylvaemus, and Myodes was recorded, namely the striped field mouse, the yellow-necked wood mouse, the European wood mouse, and the bank vole. The main indicators of species diversity were calculated using information indices—species richness, evenness, and similarity. The surveys revealed both negative and positive changes in areas affected by fires. Areas characterised by relatively higher values of species diversity indices compared to the control had a high intensity of vegetation recovery. They belonged to areas with wet, relatively fertile (sugrud) and infertile (subor) forest types. The plots with low intensity of vegetation recovery had a depleted community structure and belonged to fresh and dry boreal forest. Based on this, it is possible to create a forecast of ecosystem restoration by assessing the type of forest vegetation conditions.

Scatterhoarder abundance and advantages of seed burial drive dynamics of a tree–rodent interaction

Abstract Theoretical models suggest that species abundance plays a crucial role in mutualism; high densities can lead to overexploitation. Additionally, mutualistic benefits are expected to increase under abiotic stress. We investigated the interplay between density dependence and abiotic factors in conditional mutualism, focussing on the interactions between yellow‐necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis) and common oaks (Quercus robur) across 3 years. We controlled for seed abundance, while mouse densities varied. Our approach included monitoring mouse abundance, measuring seed removal, determining the fate of harvested seeds and conducting seedling emergence trials to assess the advantages of seeds caching. We found that mouse abundance exerted a strong influence on all studied aspects of seed dispersal. Higher densities led to increased seed removal and greater dispersal distances. However, they also decreased the probability of seed caching and increased seed consumption, degrading dispersal quality and shifting the interaction towards antagonism. Furthermore, the reliance of seedling recruitment on burial varied over time, likely becoming more critical during dry conditions. This indicates that plants face the worst conditions when high abundance of mice coincides with abiotic stress. Synthesis: Our results supports the notion that increased rodent abundance reduces plant recruitment, revealing the conflicting interests of the interacting species. However, the dynamics of rodent–oak interactions are shaped not only by the density‐dependent foraging decisions of rodents, but also by the benefits of seed burial under stress. These findings illustrate how the interplay between population density and abiotic factors jointly dictate the costs and benefits of mutualistic interactions.

Phylogenetic analysis of a novel Hepatozoon species (Hepatozoon sp. SK3) and an additional yet unknown Hepatozoon species (Hepatozoon sp. BV2) besides H. erhardovae in small rodents from Central Europe.

Hepatozoon spp. are tick-borne apicomplexan parasites of terrestrial vertebrates that occur worldwide. Tissue samples from small rodents and their parasitizing fleas were sampled for molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of Hepatozoon-specific 18S rRNA gene region. After alignment and tree inference the Hepatozoon-sequences retrieved from a yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) placed into a strongly supported single clade demonstrating the presence of a novel species, designated Hepatozoon sp. SK3. The mode of transmission of Hepatozoon sp. SK3 is yet unknown. It is important to note that this isolate may be identical with the previously morphologically described Hepatozoon sylvatici infecting Apodemus spp.; however, no sequences are available for comparison. Furthermore, the previously reported variants Hepatozoon sp. BV1/SK1 and BV2/SK2 were detected in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus). It has been suggested that these variants should be identified as Hepatozoon erhardovae leading to the assumption that BV1 and BV2 are paralogous 18S rRNA gene loci of this species. Evidence has also been presented that fleas are vectors of H. erhardovae. In this study, we show with high significance that only the Hepatozoon sp. BV1 variant, but not BV2, infects the studied flea species Ctenophthalmus agyrtes, Ctenophthalmus assimilis, and Megabothris turbidus (p < 0.001). This finding suggests that Hepatozoon sp. BV2 represents an additional species besides H. erhardovae (= Hepatozoon sp. BV1), for which alternative arthropod vectors or non-vectorial modes of transmission remain to be identified. Future studies using alternative molecular markers or genome sequencing are required to demonstrate that BV1/SK1 and BV2/SK2 are different Hepatozoon species.

Predation can shape the cascade interplay between heterothermy, exploration and maintenance metabolism underhigh food availability.

Maintenance metabolism as the minimum energy expenditure needed to maintain homeothermy (a high and stable body temperature, T b), reflects the magnitude of metabolic machinery and the associated costs of self-maintenance in endotherms (organisms able to produce heat endogenously). Therefore, it can interact with most, if not all, organismal functions, including the behavior-fitness linkage. Many endothermic animals can avoid the costs of maintaining homeothermy and temporally reduce T b and metabolism by entering heterothermic states like torpor, the most effective energy-saving strategy. Variations in BMR, behavior, and torpor use are considered to be shaped by food resources, but those conclusions are based on research studying these traits in isolation. We tested the effect of ecological contexts (food availability and predation risk) on the interplay between the maintenance costs of homeothermy, heterothermy, and exploration in a wild mammal-the yellow-necked mouse. We measured maintenance metabolism as basal metabolic rate (BMR) using respirometry, distance moved (exploration) in the open-field test, and variation in T b (heterothermy) during short-term fasting in animals captured at different locations of known natural food availability and predator presence, and with or without supplementary food resources. We found that in winter, heterothermy and exploration (but not BMR) negatively correlated with natural food availability (determined in autumn). Supplementary feeding increased mouse density, predation risk and finally had a positive effect on heterothermy (but not on BMR or exploration). The path analysis testing plausible causal relationships between the studied traits indicated that elevated predation risk increased heterothermy, which in turn negatively affected exploration, which positively correlated with BMR. Our study indicates that adaptive heterothermy is a compensation strategy for balancing the energy budget in endothermic animals experiencing low natural food availability. This study also suggests that under environmental challenges like increased predation risk, the use of an effective energy-saving strategy predicts behavioral expression better than self-maintenance costs under homeothermy.

Small mammals as carriers of zoonotic bacteria on pig and cattle farms – Prevalence and risk of exposure in an integrative approach

To prevent foodborne infections from pigs and cattle, the whole food chain must act to minimize the contamination of products, including biosecurity measures which prevent infections via feed and the environment in production farms. Rodents and other small mammals can be reservoirs of and key vectors for transmitting zoonotic bacteria and viruses to farm animals, through direct contact but more often through environmental contamination. In line with One Health concept, we integrated results from a sampling study of small mammals in farm environments and data from a capture-recapture experiment into a probabilistic model which quantifies the degree of environmental exposure of zoonotic bacteria by small mammals to farm premises. We investigated more than 1200 small mammals trapped in and around 38 swine and cattle farm premises in Finland in 2017/2018. Regardless of the farm type, the most common species caught were the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis), bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus), and house mouse (Mus musculus). Of 554 intestine samples (each pooled from 1 to 10 individuals), 33% were positive for Campylobacter jejuni. Yersinia enterocolitica was detected in 8% of the pooled samples, on 21/38 farm premises. Findings of Salmonella and the Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) were rare: the pathogens were detected in only single samples from four and six farm premises, respectively. The prevalence of Campylobacter, Salmonella, Yersinia and STEC in small mammal populations was estimated as 26%/13%, 1%/0%, 2%/3%, 1%/1%, respectively, in 2017/2018. The exposure probability within the experimental period of four weeks on farms was 17–60% for Campylobacter and 0–3% for Salmonella. The quantitative model is readily applicable to similar integrative studies. Our results indicate that small mammals increase the risk of exposure to zoonotic bacteria in animal production farms, thus increasing risks also for livestock and human health.

Behaviour, body mass and sex: How intraspecific variation influences seed dispersal by a scatter‐hoarding rodent

Abstract Intraspecific variation plays a pivotal role in shaping ecological dynamics. As the dispersal of seeds of most woody plants is mediated by animals, individual variation within the animal dispersers holds considerable implications for plant population and ecology. We explored how individual traits (such as sex, body mass and exploration levels) of yellow‐necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis) impact the dispersal of common oak (Quercus robur) acorns. Over 3 years, we collected data on seed fate and the specific mice responsible for their dispersal. The relationship between individual traits and seed dispersal was not static, but influenced by yearly environmental conditions. Heavier individuals tended to carry seeds farther, yet contrary to our expectations, sex had no effect on the distance of seed dispersal. Moreover, the exploration rate showed an inconsistent association with seed consumption and dispersal distance, while it positively impacted the distance of dispersal from the nearest tree. Synthesis. Our findings suggest a more nuanced role of individual traits in seed dispersal than often assumed, with noticeable annual variation significantly influencing these impacts. Consequently, it appears there is no single, universally beneficial individual type to ensure maximal benefits to plants. Rather, the traits conferring advantages in seed dispersal are dynamic, subject to change over time in response to environmental context. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Detection of Three Sarcocystis Species (Apicomplexa) in Blood Samples of the Bank Vole and Yellow-Necked Mouse from Lithuania.

The genus Sarcocystis is an abundant group of Apicomplexa parasites found in mammals, birds, and reptiles. These parasites are characterised by the formation of sarcocysts in the muscles of intermediate hosts and the development of sporocysts in the intestines of definitive hosts. The identification of Sarcocystis spp. is usually carried out in carcasses of animals, while there is a lack of studies on the detection of Sarcocystis species in blood samples. In the current study, blood samples of 214 yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis) and 143 bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from Lithuania were examined for Sarcocystis. The molecular identification of Sarcocystis was carried out using nested PCR of cox1 and 28S rRNA and subsequent sequencing. Sarcocystis spp. were statistically (p < 0.01) more frequently detected in the bank vole (6.3%) than in yellow-necked mice (0.9%). The analysed parasites were observed in four different habitats, such as mature deciduous forest, bog, natural meadow, and arable land. Three species, Sarcocystis funereus, Sarcocystis myodes, and Sarcocystis cf. glareoli were confirmed in the bank vole, whereas only Sarcocystis myodes were found in yellow-necked mice. The obtained results are important in the development of molecular identification of Sarcocystis parasites in live animals.

Heterothermy use in winter is associated with reduced litter size during following breeding season

Heterothermy is considered to be the most effective energy-saving strategy improving survival under natural conditions. Interspecific studies suggest that this strategy is also associated with reduced reproductive output. Yet little is known about the reproductive consequences of heterothermy use at the intraspecific level and thus its repercussions for microevolutionary processes. Moreover, as yet no study has aimed to test if litter size and juvenile mass are affected by torpor use in wild captured animals under undemanding laboratory conditions. Here we tested the hypothesis that intraspecific variation in heterothermy use is associated with different reproductive successes, being the result of the evolution of distinct life histories. We predicted that heterothermy use in winter negatively correlates with litter size and juvenile body mass during the subsequent breeding season. To test this prediction, we used yellow-necked mice from a population in which individuals consistently differ in their use of heterothermy in winter. We measured body size (head width) and body mass, basal metabolic rate, as well as metabolism and body temperature during fasting-induced torpor in wild caught mice in winter. Phenotyped mice were bred in the subsequent summer selectively – males and females with similar heterothermy characteristics were paired, the most to the least heterothermic. Dam body size, but not basal metabolism, was positively correlated with litter size (but not juvenile mass). However, when accounting for this relationship, litter size was negatively while juvenile mass was positively correlated with the average heterothermy use of a given couple. Our study indicates that heterothermy use correlates with specific life-history strategies arising from a fundamental evolutionary trade-off between survival and reproduction.

The Occurrence and Diversity of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Small Mammals from Serbia.

Background: Despite abundance of small mammals in Serbia, there is no information on their role in the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases (TBDs). This retrospective study aimed to identify different tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in small mammals in Serbia collected during 2011. Materials and Methods: A total of 179 small mammals were collected from seven different localities in Serbia. The five localities belong to the capital city of Serbia-Belgrade: recreational areas-Ada Ciganlija, Titov gaj, and Košutnjak as well as mountainous suburban areas used for hiking-Avala and Kosmaj. The locality Veliko Gradište is a tourist place in northeastern Serbia, whereas the locality Milošev Do is a remote area in western Serbia with minor human impact on the environment. Results: The results of the presented retrospective study are the first findings of Rickettsia helvetica, Rickettsia monacensis, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia miyamotoi, Babesia microti, Hepatozoon canis, and Coxiella burnetii in small mammals in Serbia. The presence of R. helvetica was confirmed in two Apodemus flavicollis, the presence of one of the following pathogens, R. monacensis, B. afzelii, H. canis, Ba. microti, and N. mikurensis was confirmed in one A. flavicollis each, whereas the presence of B. miyamotoi was confirmed in one Apodemus agrarius. Coinfection with B. afzelii and Ba. microti was confirmed in one A. flavicollis. DNA of C. burnetii was detected in 3 of 18 pools. Conclusions: The results confirm that detected pathogens circulate in the sylvatic cycle in Serbia and point to small mammals as potential reservoir hosts for the detected TBPs. Further large-scale studies on contemporary samples are needed to clarify the exact role of particular small mammal species in the epidemiology of TBDs caused by the detected pathogens.

Linking small mammal capture probability with understory structural complexity using a mobile laser scanning‐derived metric: A case study

AbstractForest understory complexity is important for many species, from large herbivores such as deer to small mammals such as mice and voles. For species that utilize the forest understory on a very small scale, it is often impractical to conduct correspondingly fine‐grained manual surveys of the understory, and thus few studies consider this small‐scale variation in understory complexity and instead work with average values on a larger scale. We explored the use of a mobile laser scanning derived understory complexity measure—understory roughness—to predict the capture probability of two representative small mammal species, the yellow‐necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) and the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus). We found a positive relationship between capture probability and understory roughness for both bank voles and yellow‐necked mice. Our results suggest that mobile laser scanning is a promising technology for measuring understory complexity in an ecologically meaningful way.

First findings of yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis (Melchior, 1834)) in the Neum area in Bosnia and Herzegovina

First findings of yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis (Melchior, 1834)) in the Neum area in Bosnia and Herzegovina