Diet of the American mink Neovison vison in an agricultural landscape in western Poland
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Date
2013
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Abstract
We studied the diet of the American mink (Neovison vison) in small artificial watercourses located in a farmland area of the
valley of the River Barycz in Poland. Rodents, mainly Microtus spp., were the most frequent prey identified, occurring in 88.3 % of all
analyzed mink scat. Minks also fed willingly on fish, birds and amphibians, whereas insects, crayfish and reptiles accounted for only
a small part of the biomass of food consumed. The food niche breadth of the mink’s diet was wide, and varied significantly between
seasons; in spring and autumn minks preyed mainly on rodents and fish, while the winter and summer diets consisted of a broad characterization
of prey items. The proportion of mammals in the diet also decreased significantly during the summer months. These patterns
differ from those previously reported in Europe, and demonstrate the plasticity of the mink diet across habitats.
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Keywords
invasive species, feeding ecology, farmland, predation, Mustelidae
Citation
Folia Zoologica vol. 62(4), 2013, pp. 303-309