Abstract Live-trapping of rodents is facilitated by their thigmotaxis (i.e. the tendency to walk along linear structures of the habitat). However, in open habitats, such as meadows and prairies, where linear structures (e.g. rocks and fallen branches) are generally absent and where densities are likely to be low, capturing rodents is often very demanding or ineffective. This applies especially to semifossorial small mammals. Therefore, we developed a technique to increase the capture success of these rodents in Alpine meadows. We applied a box in Tetrapak® with the perforated floor at the opening of Sherman traps. Semifossorial voles (Microtus spp.), leaving their burrows, would remain in a confined status, in the dark within the Tetrapak®, being forced to enter the trap or to go back in the tunnel. Sherman traps modified with Tetrapak® were positioned immediately upon active burrows, alternating with the same number of unmodified traps. Then, we compared the number of captures with and without this modification. Two trapping sessions were carried out, for 3 days/site each, in eight sites (totally 2784 trap-days). Overall, 55 semifossorial voles were trapped; 41 (74.6%) were caught in modified traps, showing that they increase the capture success of semifossorial voles in Alpine meadows.

中文翻译：

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改良的活陷阱提高了高山草甸半古田鼠的捕获成功率

摘要 啮齿动物的活体诱捕是由它们的趋触性（即沿着栖息地的线性结构行走的趋势）促进的。然而，在开阔的栖息地，例如草地和大草原，线性结构（例如岩石和倒下的树枝）通常不存在且密度可能较低，捕捉啮齿动物通常要求很高或无效。这尤其适用于半化石小型哺乳动物。因此，我们开发了一种技术来提高这些啮齿动物在高山草甸的捕获成功率。我们在谢尔曼陷阱的开口处应用了一个带有穿孔地板的 Tetrapak® 盒子。Semifossorial 田鼠 (Microtus spp.) 离开它们的洞穴，将保持在封闭状态，在 Tetrapak® 内的黑暗中，被迫进入陷阱或返回隧道。用 Tetrapak® 修改的 Sherman 陷阱立即放置在活动洞穴上，与相同数量的未修改陷阱交替放置。然后，我们比较了有和没有这种修改的捕获数量。在八个地点（总共 2784 个诱捕日）进行了两次诱捕会议，每次 3 天/地点。总共有 55 只半化石田鼠被困；41 (74.6%) 被捕获在改良的陷阱中，表明它们增加了高山草甸半仓鼠的捕获成功率。