In the Journal of Mammalogy (Q1 in Zoology), Rafał Zwolak, Michał Bogdziewicz and Leszek Rychlik (Department of Systematic Zoology), and collaborators from the Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS, published a paper on the influence of beech masting on the cross-habitat dispersal (from forests to meadows) of competing rodents in Bieszczady Mts. Authors tested 3 hypotheses concerning the impact of spillover of forest rodents (Apodemus flavicollis and Myodes glareolus) on the abundance of meadow-dwelling pine voles (Microtus subterraneus): 1) the competition hypothesis, 2) the apparent competition hypothesis, 3) the apparent mutualism hypothesis and found support for the third one: the influx of forest rodents released pine voles from predatory pressure and triggered an increase in their abundance. Authors conclude that (i) pulsed spillover of animals can create indirect positive interactions even with organisms at the same trophic level; (ii) the density-dependent spillover may increase the spatial scale of masting effects beyond the habitats where seeds are produced.
Full paper: https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyy034