TO ANALYSIS OF SPATIAL STRUCTURE IN SMALL MAMMAL POPULATIONS - SOME METHODICAL PROBLEMS

Some problems associated with using the index E (relative exclusivenes s of use of space, Alho, 1979) to analyze the spatial structure in sma ll mammal populations and different ways of its calculation are discus sed. Calculating the index E, executed on the basis of dyads, is shown to make possible a comparison between any sex-age groups of individua ls using any sampling size. Concrete examples for populations of Mongo lian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) have been adduced.