Effects of Vegetation Cover on Community Structure of Rodents Based on Long Time Series from Dongting Lake, China

Rodents are the main wildlife species in the Dongting Lake area and can even cause significant biological disasters. In order to investigate the relationship between rodent communities and vegetation, the relationship between rodent population characteristics and vegetation cover between 2000 and 2020 was analyzed. The results showed that the rodent community in Dongting Lake has obvious spatial and temporal variability, and that Microtus fortis and Apodemus agrarius are currently the main rodent species in the area, with a higher population density in eastern Dongting Lake. Meanwhile, rodent fatness varied significantly between seasons, with the highest rodent fatness in winter at most survey sites. There was also significant spatial and temporal variability in vegetation cover, and the overall trend was increasing. There was a significant relationship between vegetation cover and rodent population density and fatness, and the relationship varied by rodent species. Microtus fortis population density was significantly correlated with medium to high levels of vegetation cover, but fatness was significantly correlated with low to medium levels of vegetation cover. The relationship between population density, fatness, and vegetation cover of A. agrarius is opposite to that of M. fortis. The study confirms that M. fortis is still the main pest rodent species in the Dongting Lake area, but the monitoring of A. agrarius and vegetation cover should be strengthened.