A STUDY OF THE WINTER FEEDING HABITS OF THE SHORT-EARED OWL (Asio flammeus) IN THE TORONTO REGION

1947 ◽  
Vol 25d (2) ◽  
pp. 45-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. W. F. Banfield
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Appreciable Effect ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Avian Predators ◽  
Asio Flammeus ◽  
Minimum Estimate ◽  
Winter Feeding

The winter feeding habits of the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus Pontoppidan) were studied during the period of 1936 to 1942 in the vicinity of Toronto, Ont. The owls used restricted roosts in several groups of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia) on a golf course. By means of frequent owl population censuses and collection of pellets, food requirements and correlations were calculated.The winter incursions of the owls were found to be cyclic and to coincide with the local meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) cycle and to be independent of meteorological factors. Roosting behaviour was found to vary with snow cover.From an analysis of 3000 pellets it was found that the meadow vole formed 82% of the food taken. The next animal most commonly preyed upon was the deer mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), which comprised 17% of the food, while birds formed 1%. No significant seasonal change in diet was noted over a period of five months.It was calculated that a short-eared owl eats between 700 and 1600 mice per year. The average figure is thought to be nearer the minimum estimate. Translated to weight of mice this is equivalent to between 55.5 and 127 lb.It was demonstrated that the amount of snow on the ground affected the relative availability of meadow voles and deer mice. This fact was reflected in changes in pressure on the populations of the two mice species due to owl predation.The data presented pointed to the possibility that concentrations of avian predators could have an appreciable effect on local meadow vole populations. In the case under study it was estimated that winter short-eared owl predation might account for 10% of the vole population.The data also suggested that during periods of deep snow, because of decreased availability of meadow voles, less food is taken and during open periods increased availability of these mice is reflected by increased food consumption.

Habitat use and abundance of deer mice: interactions with meadow voles and red-backed voles

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1870-1879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Galindo ◽  
Charles J. Krebs
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Competitive Interactions ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Field Season ◽  
The Common ◽  
Clethrionomys Rutilus

In this study we investigated the influence of competitive interactions on the use of habitats and relative abundance of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). If interspecific competition is influencing the habitat use and relative abundance of deer mice, then removal or introduction of potential competitors will change habitat use and abundance of this species. During the first field season we removed meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) to look at the effect on the contiguous population of deer mouse. The removal of one species had no effect on the other species' distribution or demography. In the second field season, meadow voles declined to very low numbers and we used their natural fluctuation as a removal experiment. Deer mouse populations were not affected even when the natural decline of meadow voles was more effective in maintaining the sedge meadow free of voles than the previous removal manipulation was. During the 3rd year, meadow voles colonized two areas of forest where deer mice had been alone the previous two field seasons. Red-backed voles (Clethrionomys rutilus), in turn, increased from very low numbers in four grids. Neither meadow voles nor red-backed voles affected the spatial distribution or abundance of deer mice. The results of this study indicate that competitive interactions have no influence on the use of habitats and relative abundance of the common species of small mammals in the southwestern Yukon.

scholarly journals NOTES ON FOOD HABITS OF SMALL MAMMALS OF THE WHITE SPRUCE FOREST

1963 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Bruce Wagg
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Food Habits ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Deer Mouse ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Microtus Spp

Cage feeding of deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, and red-backed mice, Clethrionomys gapperi, showed a daily maximum seed consumption of lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta var. latifolia, of about 1,000 seeds and of white spruce, Picea glauca, of 2,000 seeds. There was no difference in the amount of seed consumed by the two species of mice. Lodgepole pine seed was preferred over white spruce.Meadow voles, Microtus spp., readily ate lodgepole pine and white spruce seedlings following germination. Red-backed mice also ate seedlings but not to the same degree as the meadow voles. The deer mouse was not tested.

scholarly journals Alternative conifer release treatments affect small mammals in northwestern Ontario

1997 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Lautenschlager ◽  
F. Wayne Bell ◽  
Robert G. Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Common Shrew ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Species Specific

Density changes of small mammals responding to different conifer release treatments (motor-manual [brush saw] cutting; mechanical [Silvana Selective] cutting; helicopter-applied herbicides [Release® (a.i. triclopyr), Vision® (a.i. glyphosate)]; controls [no treatment] were quantified. A total of 4,851 small mammals were captured and released during the three-year study. The most commonly captured (81% of total) species were: shrews (masked [Sorex cinereus Kerr], pygmy [S. hoyi Baird], arctic S. arcticus Kerr]), southern red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi Vigors), and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner). Northern short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda Say), eastern (Tamias striants L.) and least (T. minimus Bachman) chipmunks, meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus Ord), ermine (Mustela erminea L.), and meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius Zimm.) were common. Shrew (masked, pygmy, arctic, short-tailed) densities were statistically unaffected by these treatments. Red-backed vole densities were highest on control plots during the first post-treatment growing season, and highest on control and Vision® plots during the second post-treatment growing season. During the first two growing seasons after treatment, deer mouse densities were highest on Silvana Selective plots; eastern chipmunk densities were highest on control, Vision® and Silvana Selective plots; least chipmunk densities were highest on Vision® and Release® plots; and meadow vole densities were highest on Release® plots. Small mammal responses to the alternative conifer release treatments examined were species specific one and two-growing seasons post-treatment, but similar to responses common to the standard (Vision® herbicide) conifer release treatment. Key words: conifer release, Fallingsnow Ecosystem Project, glyphosate, herbicides, Release®, small mammals, spruce plantation, triclopyr, vegetation management alternatives, Vision®, wildlife habitat

Small-mammal abundance differs between pipelines, edges, and interior boreal forest habitat

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (10) ◽  
pp. 880-894
Author(s):  
A.F. Darling ◽  
L. Leston ◽  
E.M. Bayne
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Edge Effects ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Vegetation Recovery ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Meadow Voles

Oil and gas development alters boreal forests by creating early-successional habitat and an increased amount of edge. We evaluated which small-mammal species used pipeline rights of way, the influence of vegetation recovery on pipelines, and edge effects in the adjacent forest. Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord, 1815)) were the most common species on pipelines, whereas adjacent forest was dominated by southern red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi (Vigors, 1830)), northern red-backed voles (Myodes rutilus (Pallas, 1779)), and North American deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner, 1845)). Deer mouse abundance was greater along pipeline transects with greater vegetation recovery. Within the forest, irrespective of vegetation recovery on pipelines, meadow voles and deer mice increased near edges. Red-backed voles showed a mixed (i.e., neutral or positive) response to edge. Vegetation variables (i.e., canopy type and cover, ground cover, stem counts, and volume of downed woody material) were important predictors of small-mammal abundance in the forest, but they could not fully account for observed edge effects. Altered small-mammal communities on and adjacent to pipelines may have implications for boreal forest management and conservation through potential changes in predator–prey dynamics and boreal food webs; these implications require further study.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in the North American deer mouse

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan D. Griffin ◽  
Mable Chan ◽  
Nikesh Tailor ◽  
Emelissa J. Mendoza ◽  
Anders Leung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
North American ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Lower Respiratory Tract ◽  
Infectious Virus ◽  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
The North ◽  
Wild Deer ◽  
Theoretical Risk

AbstractWidespread circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in humans raises the theoretical risk of reverse zoonosis events with wildlife, reintroductions of SARS-CoV-2 into permissive nondomesticated animals. Here we report that North American deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection following intranasal exposure to a human isolate, resulting in viral replication in the upper and lower respiratory tract with little or no signs of disease. Further, shed infectious virus is detectable in nasal washes, oropharyngeal and rectal swabs, and viral RNA is detectable in feces and occasionally urine. We further show that deer mice are capable of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to naïve deer mice through direct contact. The extent to which these observations may translate to wild deer mouse populations remains unclear, and the risk of reverse zoonosis and/or the potential for the establishment of Peromyscus rodents as a North American reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 remains unknown.

Winter coexistence of voles in spruce forest: relevance of seasonal changes in aggression

1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (8) ◽  
pp. 1004-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian N. Turner ◽  
Michael R. Perrin ◽  
Stuart L. Iverson
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Vole Population ◽  
Reproductive Condition ◽  
Interspecific Aggression ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Nonbreeding Season ◽  
Short Period

Beginning in November 1973, numerous meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) moved onto a spruce forest grid occupied by red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi). A resident meadow vole population resulted, the two species coexisting until April 1974, when most meadow voles disappeared from the grid during a relatively short period. Interspecific aggression levels, as determined from voles temporarily removed from the populations and tested in paired encounters in a laboratory arena, were low during the winter, but increased when males of both species entered reproductive condition in the spring. Microtus was generally dominant in early breeding period encounters, but this dominance declined concurrently with the meadow voles' disappearance from the forest. It is argued that meadow voles did not leave the forest to breed, or because the snow cover melted, since this species will live and reproduce in forest in the absence of Clethrionomys. The results are interpreted as support for an earlier hypothesis that competitive habitat exclusion varies seasonally with reproduction-related aggression. Thus, these species apparently may coexist in either of their preferred habitats when interspecific aggression is low (the nonbreeding season), but this relationship terminates when interspecific aggression levels increase with the resumption of breeding in the spring.

The ecology of the deer mouse Peromyscus maniculatus in a coastal coniferous forest. II. Reproduction

1974 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. F. S. Sadleir
Keyword(s):  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Reproductive Phenology ◽  
Corpora Lutea ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Four Seasons ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Breeding Condition ◽  
Breeding Seasons

The duration and intensity of reproduction in deer mice was followed for four seasons by live and dead trapping. Three populations living in different types of forest habitat had synchronous breeding seasons, although there were major differences between years in the time of onset and cessation of breeding and in the proportion of females in breeding condition. No consistent relationships were found between either density changes or the incidence of parasitism and reproductive phenology. In the absence of overt food fluctuations there was a relationship between unseasonable temperature changes and breeding. Sudden increases in temperature may have stimulated the onset of breeding but its cessation before the autumn equinox was always associated with a considerable decrease in temperature if this occurred after April. In 57 pregnancies the corpora lutea count was 4.75 ± 1.12 and embryo count was 4.52 ± 1.16. [Formula: see text].

Further Studies of the Winter Feeding Habits of Cottontail Rabbits

Ecology ◽  
1949 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey L. Sweetman
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Winter Feeding

Tail length evolution in deer mice: linking morphology, behavior and function

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily R Hager ◽  
Hopi E Hoekstra
Keyword(s):  
Computational Models ◽  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Center Of Mass ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Length Variation ◽  
Caudal Vertebrae ◽  
Long Tails ◽  
And Function

Abstract Determining how variation in morphology affects animal performance (and ultimately fitness) is key to understanding the complete process of evolutionary adaptation. Long tails have evolved many times in arboreal and semi-arboreal rodents; in deer mice, long tails have evolved repeatedly in populations occupying forested habit even within a single species (Peromyscus maniculatus). Here we use a combination of functional modeling, laboratory studies, and museum records to test hypotheses about the function of tail-length variation in deer mice. First, we use computational models, informed by museum records documenting natural variation in tail length, to test whether differences in tail morphology between forest and prairie subspecies can influence performance in behavioral contexts relevant for tail use. We find that the deer mouse tail plays little role in statically adjusting center of mass or in correcting body pitch and yaw, but rather it can affect body roll during arboreal locomotion. In this context, we find that even intraspecific tail-length variation could result in substantial differences in how much body rotation results from equivalent tail motions (i.e., tail effectiveness), but the relationship between commonly-used metrics of tail-length variation and effectiveness is non-linear. We further test whether caudal vertebra length, number, and shape are associated with differences in how much the tail can bend to curve around narrow substrates (i.e., tail curvature) and find that, as predicted, the shape of the caudal vertebrae is associated with intervertebral bending angle across taxa. However, although forest and prairie mice typically differ in both the length and number of caudal vertebrae, we do not find evidence that this pattern is the result of a functional trade-off related to tail curvature. Together, these results highlight how even simple models can both generate and exclude hypotheses about the functional consequences of trait variation for organismal-level performance.

scholarly journals Development and Characterization of a Sin Nombre Virus Transmission Model in Peromyscus maniculatus

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryce Warner ◽  
Derek Stein ◽  
Bryan Griffin ◽  
Kevin Tierney ◽  
Anders Leung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Peromyscus Maniculatus ◽  
Deer Mouse ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
Transmission Model ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Sin Nombre Virus ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Heat Shock Responses

In North America, Sin Nombre virus (SNV) is the main cause of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), a severe respiratory disease with a fatality rate of 35–40%. SNV is a zoonotic pathogen carried by deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), and few studies have been performed examining its transmission in deer mouse populations. Studying SNV and other hantaviruses can be difficult due to the need to propagate the virus in vivo for subsequent experiments. We show that when compared with standard intramuscular infection, the intraperitoneal infection of deer mice can be as effective in producing SNV stocks with a high viral RNA copy number, and this method of infection provides a more reproducible infection model. Furthermore, the age and sex of the infected deer mice have little effect on viral replication and shedding. We also describe a reliable model of direct experimental SNV transmission. We examined the transmission of SNV between deer mice and found that direct contact between deer mice is the main driver of SNV transmission rather than exposure to contaminated excreta/secreta, which is thought to be the main driver of transmission of the virus to humans. Furthermore, increases in heat shock responses or testosterone levels in SNV-infected deer mice do not increase the replication, shedding, or rate of transmission. Here, we have demonstrated a model for the transmission of SNV between deer mice, the natural rodent reservoir for the virus. The use of this model will have important implications for further examining SNV transmission and in developing strategies for the prevention of SNV infection in deer mouse populations.

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