Rodent and shrew populations are key components of many animal communities around the world. However, their population dynamics and the factors influencing their abundance are still not well understood. We analyzed rodent and shrew community composition and abundance at a UNESCO world heritage site, the Neusiedler See in Eastern Austria, using barn owl pellets. We identified temperature (mean and minimal monthly temperature) as well as maximum precipitation per day as significant drivers of the rodent and shrew presence. Our analyses showed that increased temperatures and dry summers will challenge most of the analyzed species and most likely lead to decreased abundances, which will also affect the already threatened Pannonic root vole (Microtus oeconomus mehelyi). Increased drainage efforts in this area would also lead to less ground water and dryer soil and therefore damage the local rodent and shrew populations. We show that barn owl pellets are a highly efficient way of monitoring rodent and shrew populations over a large area and enable researchers to decipher the factors influencing population and community dynamics. The use of pellet data, therefore, may still be one of the most efficient methods of assessing small mammal populations and their change over time.

啮齿动物和sh种群是世界上许多动物群落的关键组成部分。然而，它们的种群动态以及影响其数量的因素仍未得到很好的了解。我们使用谷仓猫头鹰颗粒分析了联合国教科文组织世界遗产奥地利东部的新锡德勒湖（Neusedler See）中的啮齿动物和and鼠群落的组成和丰度。我们确定温度（平均温度和最低每月温度）以及每天的最大降水量是啮齿动物和sh生存的重要驱动力。我们的分析表明，温度升高和夏季干燥，将挑战大多数已分析物种，并可能导致丰度下降，这也将影响已经受到威胁的Pannonic根田鼠（Microtus oeconomus mehelyi）。在该地区加大排水工作量也将减少地下水和干燥土壤，从而损害当地的啮齿动物和sh种群。我们表明，谷仓猫头鹰颗粒是监测啮齿动物和rew种群在大面积上的高效方式，并使研究人员能够解读影响种群和群落动态的因素。因此，使用颗粒数据可能仍然是评估小型哺乳动物种群及其随时间变化的最有效方法之一。