Distribution of the European water vole Arvicola amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758) in Mazowsze and southern Podlasie

129-140 p. : ill. ; 24 cm

The paper presents distribution of the European water vole Arvicola amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758) in Mazowsze and southern Podlasie in areas situated within a 120-kilometer radius from Warsaw. Data published so far and unpublished results from analyses of the diet of three common species of owls were set up. The rodent is rare in the study area, especially when compared with southern, western and far northern Poland. Its largest population lives in Kampinos Forest, from where many localities are known. In other parts of the study area it is present locally. Only 14 localities were known outside Kampinos Forest in the years 2000–2017. It is even absent from large areas rich in various water bodies like e.g. Mazowiecki and Chojnowski Landscape Parks or Bolimowska Forest. Rarity of the European water vole was confirmed by 235 large samples of owls’ food (at least 100 of vertebrate prey in each) equally distributed across Mazowsze and southern Podlasie, in which this species was not found.