Linking small mammal capture probability with understory structural complexity using a mobile laser scanning-derived metric: A case study

Forest understory complexity is important for many species, from large herbivores such as deer to small mammals such as mice and voles. For species that utilize the forest understory on a very small scale, it is often impractical to conduct correspondingly fine-grained manual surveys of the understory, and thus few studies consider this small-scale variation in understory complexity and instead work with average values on a larger scale. We explored the use of a mobile laser scanning derived understory complexity measure—understory roughness—to predict the capture probability of two representative small mammal species, the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) and the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus). We found a positive relationship between capture probability and understory roughness for both bank voles and yellow-necked mice. Our results suggest that mobile laser scanning is a promising technology for measuring understory complexity in an ecologically meaningful way.