1. Comparison of the diet of stoat (Mustela erminea) in relation to sex and season in Norway
- Author
-
Piontek, Aleksandra, Wierzbowska, Izabela, Bevanger, Kjetil, and Tokarz, Wojciech
- Abstract
The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mustelid predator specialising on rodent species. However, they also can eat various alternative prey in different parts of their range. In the literature, sexual dimorphism differences in this species are reflected in different diet preferences with males hunting on larger prey than females. The aim of this study was to assess food habits of stoats trapped in two study sites in Norway. We analysed stomach content in relation to body mass, sex and season. In total, 137 stomachs, 101 of males and 36 of females, were analysed. Males (201.80 ± 37.71 g) were significantly heavier than females (85.06 ± 13.26 g) (F= 258.88, df= 1, p≤ 0.0001). Six food categories were identified, dominated by small rodents, followed by anthropogenic food, birds, insectivores and invertebrates. The most common prey species were bank vole (Myodes glareolus) and tundra vole (Microtus oeconomus). We found no evidence of trophic niche segregation between male and female stoats despite body size differences between sexes. There were also no significant differences in diet of all stoats between seasons. The trophic annual niche breadth of all stoats was B= 3.88 and highly overlapped between sexes (Ojk= 0.97). The results confirm that the stoat in Norway is a generalist predator able to profit on human food refuse found in close proximity to permanent residents and summer cabins.
- Published
- 2015
- Full Text
- View/download PDF