Rozšíření myšivky horské (Sicista betulina) v Pošumaví na základě rozboru potravy sov (Rodentia: Zapodidae)

Pages	11–26
DOI	10.37520/lynx.2023.002
Keywords	Šumava Mts., rare mammal species, monitoring, owl pellets, distribution, altitude analysis, Czech Republic
Citation	ANDĚRA, Miloš, KLOUBEC, Bohuslav a OBUCH, Ján. Rozšíření myšivky horské (Sicista betulina) v Pošumaví na základě rozboru potravy sov (Rodentia: Zapodidae). Lynx, new series. Prague: National Museum, 2023, 54(1), 11–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37520/lynx.2023.002. ISSN 0024-7774 (print), 1804-6460 (online). Also available from: https://www.nm.cz/en/periodicals/lynx-new-series/54-1/rozsireni-mysivky-horske-sicista-betulina-v-posumavi-na-zaklade-rozboru-potravy-sov-rodentia-zapodidae

Lynx, new series | 2023/54/1

Distribution of Sicista betulina in the Šumava Mts. (Bohemian Forest, SW Bohemia, Czech Republic) based on owl diet analysis (Rodentia: Zapodidae). The Šumava Mountains are one of the three areas of a relict occurrence of the northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina) in the Czech Republic. The present study summarises all records of this species obtained there by the analysis of diet of three species of owls, the Tengmalm’s owl (Aegolius funereus), to a lesser extent of the Ural owl (Strix uralensis) and tawny owl (Strix aluco). A total of 355 sample sets from 228 localities was processed, positive findings concern 57 localities where the northern birch mouse was found (322 individuals). The presence of the species was confirmed in an area of approximately 1,400 km2, which corresponds to 13 mapping fields of the KFME, four of which extend into the territories of Germany and Austria (field numbers 7047, 7148, 7249, 7350). More than a third of the localities (37.0%) and nearly two thirds of the individuals (62.4%) come from four mapping fields (7048, 7049, 7148, 7149) covering mainly a peaty alluvial plain of the upper stream of the Vltava river and its surroundings. Data obtained by observation or capturing of the northern birch mouse give a similar picture. Thus, this territory with the high proportion of relict vegetation can be considered as the core area of the current occurrence of the mouse in the Šumava Mts. The altitude range of the northern birch mouse records from owl pellets is 680–1160 m a. s. l. with a mean of 871.7 m a. s. l. Almost a third of the localities (32.0%) lie in the altitudinal range of 700–800 m a. s. l., and more than four fifths of the records (82.7%) fall within the range of 700–1000 m a. s. l. However, these are only indicative values that can be influenced by the size of the individual hunting territories of owls (especially in a landscape with a steep mountainous relief). Our results confirm the previously described zoogeographical profile of the northern birch mouse in the Šumava Mts., i.e., that its distribution is limited only to the south-eastern half of this mountain range and ends roughly in the Kvildské pláně region in the north-west. Records of the northern birch mouse on the Bavarian side of the mountain range are in full agreement with this. It can be assumed that the species occurrence in the whole Bohemian Forest is primarily shaped by its Holocene history. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that the analysis of the diet composition of the Tengmalm’s owl is an effective method of study of the geographical distribution of the northern birch mouse.

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