TY - GEN A1 - Jędrzejewska, B. A1 - Jędrzejewski, W. N1 - This paper questions the common explanation of surplus killing by small mustelids as an incidental response to superabundance of prey. Alternatively, we propose that surplus hunting in weasels is a regular seasonal (winter) strategy, a mean of: (1) balancing the cold-inducted increase of energy need, (2) compensating the concurrent restriction in hunting activity, (3) constantly supplying a "buffer" cache against unpredictable winter conditions. We tested this prediction in seminatural conditions in nineteen experiments performed over three years with 8 nonreproductive weasels Mustela nivalis Linnaeus, 1766 and very high densities of rodents, mainly the bank voles Clethrionomys glareolus (Schreber, 1780). Each experiment lasted from 6 to 25 days. L1 - http://rcin.org.pl/ibs/Content/11341/PDF/BI002_2613_Cz-40-2_Acta-T34-nr25-347-359_o.pdf M3 - Text VL - 34 CY - Białowieża PY - 1989 IS - 25 EP - 359 KW - daily consumption KW - hunting strategy KW - Mustela nivalis KW - seasonal surplus killing KW - sezonowe nadmierne zabijanie KW - strategia polowań KW - łasica KW - zapasy pokarmu KW - pokarm SP - 347 T1 - Seasonal surplus killing as hunting strategy of the weasel Mustela nivalis - test of a hypothesis UR - http://rcin.org.pl/ibs/dlibra/publication/edition/11341 ER -