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Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate species composition of the small mammal community of the Romincka Forest (NE Poland) with the aid of the tawny owl Strix aluco as a material collector and to estimate the efficiency of the methods applied. In total, 1209 small mammals were sampled, 909 of which were classified as belonging to one of the 15 species identified. Using the rarefaction method we assessed that in order to record 95% of all the mammal species present, 434 individuals randomly selected from the whole material need to be sampled (i.e. 47.7%). The estimation of the total species richness indicated that all species inhabiting the forest under study were recorded. For two less common mammals, the common pine vole Microtus subterraneus and the common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius, we made an attempt to calculate the number of animals annually killed by the tawny owl population. Our calculations were based on the proportion of small animals in owls’ diet and the density of these birds of prey. We estimated that the tawny owl population removed from 1336 to 2305 individuals of M. subterraneus and from 604 to 1041 individuals of M. avellanarius in the study area every year (i.e. 22.3–38.4 and 10.1–17.4 individuals per km2, respectively). Such analysis may be applicable to other rare species, and therefore may be an effective tool for the assessment of biological resources and their conservation planning.