Lanszki József - Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Magyarországon élő ragadozó emlősök táplálkozás-ökológiája - Natura Somogyiensis 4. (Kaposvár, 2002)

LANSZKI J.: RAGADOZÓ EMLŐSÖK TÁPLÁLKOZÁS-ÖKOLÓGIÁJA 173 cies was the bank vole but wood mice also showed high frequency. In the Boronka Nature Conservation Area the pine martens slightly preferred bank vole (Ej = 0.1) and dormouse (Ej =0.16) as prey, while wood mice (Ej = -0.14) and shrews (Ej = -0.28) were preyed to a lesser degree than their frequency of occurrence in the environment. Birds had secondary importance in the pine martens' diet only during spring and summer. The birds in the pine martens' diet mainly consisted of singing-birds with small body size. Invertebrates frequently occurring in the diet were consumed in small amount. The importance of other diet taxa significantly differed according to the pine martens' habitat. For instance during the winter pine martens consumed substantial amounts of game carcass and fish near fishponds. The importance of plants depended on the season and habitat. Wild fruits could provide the most important element of the pine martens' diet during the summer and played an important role during the autumn as well. The pine martens' diet was characterised by a large number of species and was accompanied by a wide trophic niche in each season. The number of prey and plant taxa of the two areas examined was 62,49 and 11,8 respectively. The prey mainly consisted of small animals weighing less then 50 gramms. Though the pine martens are excellent tree climbers the majority of their prey species were terrestrial. Arboreal species featured relatively rarely among their prey. The pine martens' diet composition showed high similarity to that of foxes living in the same habitat. The diet composition of badgers living near fishponds surrounded by forests like the Boronka Nature Conservation Area, and of those in agricultural lands like the area of the Fonó Fishpond differed significantly. The diet composition of badgers living in wooded areas was dominated by invertebrates during the winter, and by amphibians from spring to autumn. Small mammals and other prey taxa did not play an important role. The diet composition of badgers living in agricultural land was dominated by invertebrates (especially earthworms) during the summer, and by plants (especially maize) and small mammals (particularly voles) during the autumn. The diet was greatly varied in species but showed a medium to low trophic niche breadth in both regions. The number of prey and plant taxa of the studied two habitats were 47, 25 and 11,6 respectively. In the diet dominated the terrestrial prey weighing less than 15 g due to the frequent occurrence of invertebrates in it. Badgers differed from other terrestrial carnivores regarding their feeding habits. Their trophic niche was among the narrowest of the species examined, thus they could be regarded as specialists within a given habitat. Badgers utilised different diets in various habitats which indicates their adaptability. The diet composition of the red fox was varied in species together with a wide trophic niche showing excellent adaptability. The diet of foxes living on agricultural land (like the region of the Fonó Fishpond or Kétújfalu) consisted of 40-42 prey and 10-12 plant taxa, respectively. Foxes of the wood habitat showed more taxa in their diet, 66 prey and 15 plant were observed at the Boronka Nature Conservation Area and 47 prey and 8 plant taxa at the Lankóci Forest. The most important items of the diet was provided by small mammals (46-94 % by biomass) depending on the season and characteristics of the area. The main prey species were the common vole a cause of economic loss in agricultural areas, and bank vole in the forests. The weight of the majority of their prey ranged between 15-50 g. In the Boronka Nature Conservation Area the red fox slightly favoured bank vole (Ej = 0.11) and avoidedo wood mouse species (Ej = -0.14), which were hunted less than their frequency of occurrence. A considerable trophic niche overlap was observed between the red fox and other medium sized terrestrial carnivores.