Asymmetrical competition between the bank vole and the wood mouse, a removal experiment

Experimental removal was conducted to test interspecific competition betwee n the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus (Linnaeus, 1758) and the bank vole Cle thrionomys glareolus (Schreber, 1780) that dominate the rodent communities in the forested biotopes through most of central Europe. Population density , body mass, reproductive condition, and habitat use were compared among tw o experimental sites (where one of the species had been removed) and one co ntrol site. The 5-year-study included pre-removal, removal, and post-remova l periods. Reproductive condition was not affected by the density of the co mpetitor or the conspecifics. Also, we did not detected any habitat shift t hat could be related to competitive release. However, the removal of wood m ice strongly affected the population density of bank voles, but the removal of bank voles affected density of wood mice only slightly. Thus, we conclu de that the competitive effect was asymmetrical.