Food consumption and preferences in wild populations of Clethrionomys gapperi and Napaeozapus insignis

Abstract

Clethrionomys gapperi and Napaeozapus insignis are shown to consume quantities of most of the more common fleshy fruits found in the mixed deciduous forest of the mid-Laurentians of Quebec, based on consumption at forest feeding stations. Differences in preferences among the fruits are small. Both rodents tend to return to known food sources and increase both activity and food consumption with increased food density. Functional response to food density is slightly better fitted by the disc equation than by linear regression.