Inhabitation of Pteromys volans and nest box use by birds and mammals in Nopporo Forest Park

Abstract

We installed 36 nest boxes at four sites in Nopporo Forest Park, an urban forest in Hokkaido, Japan. We checked the nest material in the nest boxes during winter from 2013 to 2016, and estimated the inhabitation of Pteromys volans. Nest boxes were used by P. volans, birds and Apodemus argenteus. We found only two cases of P. volans using nest boxes at one site. We also found that P. volans and birds use higher nest boxes than A. argenteus. We concluded that the habitat of P. volans is restricted and the population is small.