THE DISTRIBUTION AND POPULATION REGULATION OF THE WOOD MOUSE APODEMUS-SYLVATICUS ON FIELD BOUNDARIES OF PASTORAL FARMLAND

The population characteristics and distribution of wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus (L.) were investigated along field margins of farmland dominated by grass production. Turnover, sex ratio, breeding season, spatial density dependence and density dependence in reproductive activity indicated that the population ecology of A. sylvaticus is consistent in different habitats in the same geographical region. Spatial variation in the abundance of A. sylvaticus was related negatively to percentage of land under pasture and distance from woodland and positively related to variables associated with food supply and cover