ABSTRACT: The response of small rodents to rainfall is largely species-specific. There is a need to widely survey the effects of rainfall among varied rodent species, particularly arboreal rodents to accurately understand their response to rainfall. Therefore, in this study, we examined changes in the activity patterns of Japanese dormice Glirulus japonicus in relation to rainfall. We undertook extensive camera trapping for 2 yr to collect data on dormouse activity. During all 63 camera-trap detections (i.e. 24 on rainy nights and 39 on nights without rain) using cameras set at 214 sites, dormice demonstrated perfect nocturnality. Dormice were active throughout the nights when there was no rain; however, on rainy nights, their activity tended to be limited to close to sunset. Our results provide important evidence that rainfall limits the activity of Japanese dormice. In Japan, precipitation has increased with recent climate change; thus an increase in precipitation in the future could increasingly limit the periods of activity of the Japanese dormouse.

中文翻译：

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降雨对日本睡鼠夜间活动的影响

摘要：小型啮齿动物对降雨的反应很大程度上取决于物种。需要广泛地调查降雨对各种啮齿动物物种，特别是树栖啮齿动物的影响，以准确了解其对降雨的响应。因此，在本研究中，我们在日本的活动模式的改变睡鼠Glirulus刺参关于降雨。我们进行了为期2年的大量相机诱捕，以收集有关睡鼠活动的数据。在使用214个地点的相机进行的所有63次相机陷阱检测中（例如，在雨夜中检测到24个，在没有雨的夜晚检测到39个），休眠表现出了完美的夜间活动。没有雨，整夜都在睡觉。然而，在下雨的夜晚，它们的活动往往仅限于接近日落。我们的结果提供了重要证据，表明降雨限制了日本休眠的活动。在日本，随着最近的气候变化，降水增加了。因此，未来降水的增加可能会越来越多地限制日本睡鼠的活动时间。