Small rodent dynamics at Lathkill Dale SSSI, Derbys, 1971- 2005

This dataset describes 35 years of 6-monthly population sampling of adult and juvenile bank voles Myodes glareolus and wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus in a Derbyshire Ash Fraxinus excelsior woodland, together with annual and seasonal ash fruit-fall and a measure of winter severity. Additional data describe a 4 year experiment on a nearby study area where in two winters supplementary ash fruit were supplied and population data collected in parallel to the main study area. Woodland small mammal population dynamics are commonly influenced by variable food supplies (due to masting), climate and population density. However, the effects of precise environmental variables are poorly understood. To explain between-year variations in bank vole and wood mouse reproductive/population growth rates, we applied a state-space model to 33 years of live-trapping data. Experimental additions of ash fruit in winter aided interpretation.