Experimental facility
The experiment was undertaken in eight 0.15-ha (50 × 30 m) outdoor
enclosures in 2012 and 2015. The enclosures were constructed using
galvanised steel panels (1.5 m aboveground and 0.5 m belowground), which
prevented mammalian predators from gaining entry. Avian predators were
excluded by a 3 × 3 cm grid wire mesh held aloft by a central pillar (10
× 250 cm) in each enclosure. Each enclosure was equipped with 60
laboratory-made wooden traps (Bian et al., 2015), spaced in a 5 × 5 m
grid. Each trap was covered with a wooden sheet to protect it from
exposure to precipitation and temperature extremes.