HOME RANGES AND HABITAT USE OF THE GARDEN DORMOUSE (ELIOMYS QUERCINUS) IN A MOUNTAIN HABITAT IN SUMMER

Radio-tracking was used to investigate home ranges, daily resting places and habitat use of the garden dormouse in Scots pine woodland in summer. Males used larger areas than females. Overlaps between ranges suggested a spatial organization during the breeding period in which males partially share their home ranges and overlap with those of females. Dormice nested above ground in holes between rocks and every animal used more than one nest during the radio-tracking period. Most of the active time was spent by animals on the ground, searching for food under hazel bushes and moving through areas with abundant rocky cover, probably for protection from predators.