Savi's pine vole (Microtus savii) ecology in agroecosystems

The research I conducted during this PhD focused on the Savi’s pine vole (Microtus savii). It presents the state-of-the-art knowledge about this species which still has numerous gaps; these gaps should however be filled in order to conceive an effective management system of a species that can affect human agriculture. Moreover this thesis provides a new effective method that can be adopted by future researchers intending to study this species or any other fossorial small mammal. The information here provided includes data on reproductive period, which is far more complex than what previously thought, monthly fluctuations and survival and dispersal. These information were acquired during an intensive and detailed one-year-long study carried out in antrophic environment. Lastly I make use of innovative genetic techniques to prove that even though this species’ diet is composed by various plants, it displays marked preferences or avoidances for specific kinds of food. This work might lay the groundwork for future studies on this relatively unknown Italian species.