Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok IX. - Natura Somogyiensis 24. (Kaposvár, 2014)
Szűcs D. - Kitti Horváth K. - Horváth Gy. F.: Comparing small mammal faunas based on barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets collected in two different lowland landscapes
Szűcs, D., Horváth, K. & Horváth, Gy. F.: Small mammal faunas 307 Material and methods Locations of owl pellets Bam owl pellets were collected between 2006 and 2009 in both landscapes. From 29 settlements of the three mesoregions in Drava floodplain 229 samples were collected, while from 12 settlements of the two microregions in Győr basin 44 samples originated. Altogether, 273 pellet samples were collected from 41 settlements of the two regions during the four years of monitoring. We selected 6-6 settlements in both regions, which were used for local analysis (i.e. breeding pair of a given settlement), because sufficiently large number of samples were available in these every year during the period of the examination. Arc View and ArcMap 10.0 programs were used for the thematic map of frequency distribution of featured species and affected settlements (Fig. 1). Our studies involved two widely separated lowland regions in Transdanubia. The Drava plain was created by filling up with fluvial sediments, terrace formation and shedding of loess. The Baranya county section of the Drava river is widened, with sediments of sand and silty sand being characteristic. The Drava floodplain is the most Mediterranean part of our country due to the favourable precipitation and milder winter. However, the fundamental feature of the climate in the areas along the Drava is that the temperature rises towards the east, but the amount of precipitation decreases (Marosi & Somogyi 1990). The Győr basin is a perfect plain, constituting the lowermost area of the Kisalföld plain region. Its surface is made up of alluvial cone plains (e.g. Rábaköz, Szigetköz, Mosoni plain) and former swamp- and marshlands (Fertő-Hanság basin) built by the Danube, Raba and their tributaries. The climate is moderately cool and dry. Fig. 1: Thematic map of localities (settlements) of the collected pellet samples; settlements that were used for local analysis are marked with green
