Abstract
The diets and abundances of three sympatric shrew species (Sorex unguiculatus, S. gracillimus, and S. caecutiens), food resource conditions, and environmental characteristics were investigated in three habitat types (riparian forest, wind-shelter belt, and spruce forest), during seasons without snow-cover in northern Hokkaido, Japan. S. unguiculatus outnumbered S. gracillimus in both the riparian forest and wind-shelter belt, and vice versa in the spruce forest. S. caecutiens was rare in the study area. Abundances of S. unguiculatus and S. gracillimus seemed to be unrelated to those of their principal foods. The main prey of S. unguiculatus was earthworms, whereas S. gracillimus and S. caecutiens mainly consumed small terrestrial arthropods. S. unguiculatus tended to consume more earthworms in the spruce forest than in the other habitat types. The earthworm consumption appeared to directly reflect their availability per capita. Food consumption by S. gracillimus tended to be constant regardless of the habitat type.
