Conservation status of Sorex alpinus within a community of small mammals in the Oberpfälzer Forest (Bavaria, Germany): results of a 16-year study (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)

We collected data on small mammals at the southeastern foothills of the Oberpfälzer Forest (Upper Palatinate Forest), a low mountain range along the border between Bavaria and the Czech Republic. Special attention was paid to the conservation status of the Alpine shrew, Sorex alpinus. Over a 16-year period, 2009–2024, live trapping was carried out each year from mid/end September to mid/end October. A total of 2,976 small mammals of 15 species (eight rodent species, six insectivore species, and one carnivore species) were captured, with the most abundant species being the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus), followed by the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) and the wood mouse (A. sylvaticus). The bank vole and yellow-necked mouse populations showed remarkable fluctuations, with peaks and crashes in subsequent years. Shrews were represented by six species, including the bicoloured white-toothed shrew (Crocidura leucodon), whose presence in a closed woodland is rather unusual. The Alpine shrew was recorded with a total of 26 specimens (0–4 individuals caught per year). This makes it by far the rarest of all the Soricinae species that have been recorded. We consider the Alpine shrew to be endangered in the lower mountain ranges of Bavaria due to climate change and habitat shift.