Food eaten by four species of rodents in polluted forests

eaten by four species of rodents in polluted forests. Acta theriol., 34, 32; 465—477 [With 6 Tables] The composition of diet was studied in Clethrionomys glareolus, Apode-mus agrarius and Apodemus flavicollis in forests of Upper Silesia (southern Poland). The rodents were obtained from two polluted forested sites (Aniołki and Szczygłowice, the first site much more heavily polluted) except for M. agrestis which was collected only on more polluted site (Aniołki). The com-position of diet within particular rodent species was fairly similar on both sites nevertheless differed from diets reported for other populations. C. gla-reolus fed on green parts of plants (45—67 % of diet) and on seeds and fruits (21—38%). The absence of animal food and lack of seasonality distinguish-ed these populations from all previously studied populations. A. agrarius fed mainly on green parts of plants (90—94 % in spring, 56—67 % in au-tumn) while seeds constituted 24 % of autumn diet. Thus this species else-where taking mainly seed and animal food changed its food habits entirely. A. flavicollis apart from seeds and animal food fed also on underground parts of plants (up to 50 % of food volume). M. agrestis showed similar food preferences on Silesian locatios as in other parts of its range of distribution. In spring, the green par ts constituted 78 % while in autumn its fraction fell to 43 % with seeds making up 22%. The presence of fungi (26 % of the diet in autumn) seems to be peculiar for the populations under study. Thus, there were alterations in diet in all four species compared with many European populations studied so far. In C. glareolus, M. agrestis, and A. flavicollis the changes occurred as shifts in proportions of principal components while in A. agrarius there were profound changes in the principal composition of diet