Strong mutual relationships exist between rodents and ecosystems. By modifying the structure and functioning of ecosystems, human activity can affect rodent behaviour and ecology. The yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis is widespread in Europe, and its spatial ecology has been studied in various habitats, but studies are lacking for Mediterranean forests often altered by forest management practices. We investigated the spatial behaviour of A. flavicollis in a sub-Mediterranean deciduous oak forest of central Italy subject to forest management. We radio-tracked 27 individuals in two different coppice stands, i.e. a recently cut area and a high forest, differing in terms of species-specific habitat quality and rodent population density. We analysed the size of home ranges in relation to habitat type and sex. Our results revealed that home range and core area size did not differ between habitat types or sexes. The spatial behaviour of A. flavicollis thus did not appear to be influenced by population density and habitat quality. The lack of sex-related differences confirms the current knowledge on the species’ spatial ecology. Our findings provide the first useful information on the spatial behaviour of A. flavicollis in sub-Mediterranean deciduous oak forests, whose ecological processes may be markedly influenced by this key species at several trophic levels.

啮齿动物和生态系统之间存在牢固的相互关系。通过改变生态系统的结构和功能，人类活动可以影响啮齿动物的行为和生态。黄颈小鼠姬鼠（Apodemus flavicollis）在欧洲广泛分布，并且已经在各种栖息地中研究了其空间生态学，但是缺乏针对地中海森林的研究，这些森林通常因森林经营方式而改变。我们调查了黄曲霉的空间行为在意大利中部的亚地中海地中海落叶栎林中进行森林管理。我们在两个不同的小灌木林站（即最近砍伐的地区和一片高树林）中对27个个体进行了无线电跟踪，这取决于物种特定的栖息地质量和啮齿动物种群密度。我们分析了与栖息地类型和性别相关的家庭范围的大小。我们的研究结果表明，栖息地类型或性别之间的住所范围和核心区域大小没有差异。因此，黄曲霉的空间行为似乎不受种群密度和生境质量的影响。缺乏与性别相关的差异，证实了有关物种空间生态学的最新知识。我们的发现提供了有关黄曲霉空间行为的第一个有用信息 在地中海南部的落叶栎林中，这种关键物种在几个营养级别上可能会明显影响其生态过程。