Fecal corticosterone metabolite levels in two closely related rodent species in a sub-Mediterranean environment

Glucocorticoids regulate many physiological functions and play an important role in coping with challenging stimuli. The non-invasive assessment of glucocorticoids is increasingly used as a tool to evaluate individual and population health status in wild animals. Given the crucial role of rodents in forest ecosystems, it may be useful to study the glucocorticoid profile of these species to find possible links with the environmental characteristics in which they live and facilitate the development of biodiversity management plans. We studied two closely related species that are the main representatives of the ground-dwelling rodent communities in sub-Mediterranean forested areas: Apodemus sylvaticus and A. flavicollis. Fecal corticosterone metabolite (FCM) levels of animals captured in a Mediterranean agroforestry system were assessed. We found that A. sylvaticus males excreted lower FCM levels than females, while A. flavicollis males showed higher FCM levels than females. Males of ..., To evaluate the effects induced by different habitat types on mouse FCM levels we selected fifteen sampling sites within the three main habitat types: coppiced deciduous woodlands, conifer plantations and long-fallow fields.
Trapping sessions were conducted every other month from September 2011 to September 2012. In each sampling site, handmade LOT (Locasciulli Osvaldo Trap) live traps (9 x 8 x 23 cm) (Locasciulli et al. 2015), were placed on a 60 x 60 m grid. The grids were placed at least 100 m away from the habitat border. The minimum distance between two grids was around 500 m. The traps were equipped with nesting material (hemp) and baited with sunflower seeds, apples, and peanut butter. In each session, the traps were checked every morning for three consecutive days.
To evaluate the effects induced by trap confinement on mouse FCM levels and post-excretion FCM stability, opportunistic trapping events were carried out using food-baited L.O.T. traps placed in transects (20 traps, 10..., , # Fecal corticosterone metabolite levels of *Apodemus sylvaticus* and *A. flavicollis*

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5tb2rbpf0](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5tb2rbpf0)

## Description of the data and file structure

The datasets as_f_color.xls, as_m_color.xls, af_f_color.xls, af_m_color.xls, and stability.xls were used to evaluate fecal corticosterone metabolites levels time excretion and stability differences postexcretion. The datasets dataset.xls, dataset_flavicollis.xls and dataset_sylvaticus.xls were used to investigate the effects of individual (i.e. sex and breeding condition) and environmental (i.e. season and habitat type) variables on the fecal corticosterone metabolite levels in *Apodemus sylvaticus* and *Apodemus flavicollis*

### Files and variables

#### File: af\_f\_color.xls

**Description:** Female *Apodemus flavicollis* uncolored and colored fecal boluses collected from the live-trap 

##### Variables

* IDanimal: number of the trap and date of animal capture
* typ...,