An irruption of deer mice after logging of coastal coniferous forest

1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 586-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. Sullivan ◽  
Charles J. Krebs

This study describes an irruption of Peromyscusmaniculatus after clear-cut logging of a coastal forest. The abundance of deer mice increased seven to eight times above previous levels in an old field habitat adjacent to the clear cut. This outbreak occurred during and after a logging operation in the fall of 1973. Several alternative explanations for this irruption include increased reproduction or reduced mortality in the deer mouse population, immigration of mice from the surrounding undisturbed forest, or immigration of animals from the clear-cut area. We conclude that removal of timber has the capacity to trigger an irruption of deer mice.

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (8) ◽  
pp. 1636-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. Sullivan

This study was designed to test the widely held hypothesis that clear-cut (logged) habitats support higher density populations of Peromyscus than do forested habitats. Deer mouse populations were livetrapped in forest and clear-cut habitats at Maple Ridge, British Columbia, from May 1975 to April 1978. The average density of mice per hectare in the forest was 19.6(1975), 15.8(1976), 22.3(1977), and on the clear-cut areas was 23.3(1975), 16.6(1976), 29.9(1977). The slightly higher number of animals on the clear-cutting in 1975 and 1977 reflected a burst of recruitment in the late summer and fall of each year. The density of mice on clear-cut areas declined during each winter to a level comparable with that of the forest. Juvenile male deer mice were able to enter into the clear-cutting populations during the breeding season in the first year after logging. Recently logged areas may be acting as dispersal or behavioural sinks.


1974 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. F. S. Sadleir

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].


1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 874-883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. Sullivan

This study was designed to assess the demographic responses of small mammal populations to herbicide-induced habitat alteration in a 7-year-old Douglas-fir plantation near Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. Populations of the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), Oregon vole (Microtus oregoni), Townsend chipmunk (Eutamias townsendii), and shrews (Sorex spp.) were sampled in control and treatment habitats from April 1981 to September 1983 and from April to October 1985. Recolonization of removal areas by these species was also monitored in both habitats. There was little difference in abundance of deer mice, Oregon voles, and shrews between control and treatment study areas. Chipmunk populations appeared to decline temporarily on the treatment areas relative to controls. Recolonization by voles was not affected by habitat change, but for deer mice was lower on the treatment than control area. Both deer mouse and Oregon vole populations were at comparable densities on control and treatment areas in the second and fourth years after herbicide treatment. The proportion of breeding animals and average duration of life were similar in control and treatment populations of deer mice and voles. These small mammal species should be able to persist in areas of coastal coniferous forest that are treated with herbicide for conifer release.


1974 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 1311-1315 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Harling ◽  
R. M. F. S. Sadleir

The frequency distribution of over 600 stomach weights of deer mice showed considerable variation and was highly skewed. Because of the difficulty of defining a "full" stomach, it was not possible to use the weights of stomachs sampled to estimate consumption rates. There were no significant seasonal changes in mean stomach weights over a 3-year study and no relationship between stomach weights and sexual condition was found.


2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. Sullivan ◽  
Druscilla S. Sullivan ◽  
Eugene J. Hogue

There are often several rodent species included in the small mammal communities in orchard agro-ecosystems. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the population levels of Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and Yellow-pine Chipmunks (Tamias amoenus) would be enhanced in old field compared with orchard habitats. Rodent populations were intensively livetrapped in replicate old field and orchard sites over a four-year period at Summerland, British Columbia, Canada. Deer Mouse populations were, on average, significantly higher (2.5 – 3.4 times) in the old field than orchard sites in summer and winter periods. Mean numbers/ha of Deer Mice ranged from 12.1 to 60.4 in old field sites and from 3.3 to 19.9 in orchard sites. Breeding seasons in orchards were significantly longer than those in old field sites, in terms of proportion of reproductive male Deer Mice. Recruitment of new animals and early juvenile survival of Deer Mice were similar in orchard and old field sites. Populations of Yellow-pine Chipmunks ranged in mean abundance/ha from 5.6 – 19.0 in old field sites and from 1.9 – 17.5 on one orchard site, with no difference in mean abundance in 2 of 4 years of the study. Recruitment and mean survival of Yellow-pine Chipmunks also followed this pattern. This study is the first detailed comparison of the population dynamics of these rodent species in old field and orchard habitats. These species should be able to maintain their population levels and help contribute to a diversity of small mammals in this agrarian landscape.


1974 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. G. Petticrew ◽  
R. M. F. S. Sadleir

A 3-year live-trapping study of deer mice was carried out on separate 1-hectarc (ha) grids located in a mature forest, a recently logged area, and a young plantation. Despite apparent gross differences in the habitats, populations on the recently logged area were similar in numbers, survival, and recruitment to those in the mature forest. There were greater differences in population parameters between years than between these two areas. Populations of deer mice in the young plantation were lower in numbers and eventually went to extinction in the summer of 1970. This appeared to be due rather to the presence of numerous Microtus oregoni in this area than to the habitat being less suitable for deer mice.On the basis of this and previous studies it is proposed that the numbers of deer mice in a population are regulated as follows. During breeding seasons the numbers of males and juveniles are regulated by agonistic male behavior while the numbers of females may be a function of the length of the breeding season. During non-breeding seasons the changes in numbers of all deer mice are regulated by the length of such seasons.


1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1148-1154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. Sullivan ◽  
Druscilla S. Sullivan

This study was designed to monitor some of the demographic responses of a deer mouse population to a forest application of Roundup® herbicide. Populations of Peromyscus maniculatus were livetrapped from July 1978 to November 1980 on a control area and in a herbicide-treated 20-year-old Douglas-fir plantation at Maple Ridge, British Columbia. The herbicide had no apparent adverse effects on reproduction, growth, or survival of deer mice 1 year after treatment. Inconsistencies in growth rates and juvenile survival between control and experimental deer mice in 1980 could be due to the herbicide or demographic factors. Field dose applications of this herbicide should not have a direct effect on the dynamics of deer mouse populations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan D. Griffin ◽  
Mable Chan ◽  
Nikesh Tailor ◽  
Emelissa J. Mendoza ◽  
Anders Leung ◽  
...  

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.


Oryx ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Heiduck

The masked titi Callicebus personatus melanochir is a threatened primate, endemic to the Atlantic rainforest of eastern Brazil. The Atlantic rainforest has been reduced to only 5% of its former extent, and only 2% consists of undisturbed forest. The survival of the masked titi monkey is therefore dependent on its ability to utilise disturbed forest habitat. A group of four masked titi monkeys was observed for one year in a plot that contained both disturbed and undisturbed forest. The group used a home range of 22 ha, which comprised 58% undisturbed forest, 31% selectively logged forest and 11% forest that was regrowing after a clear-cut. The titi monkeys did not use the different forest types in proportion to the availability of each within their home range: undisturbed forest was used more than expected from its proportional availability, and disturbed forest was used less than expected. Use of forest types appeared to be determined by the availability of food resources. Undisturbed forest had the most food per unit area and regrowing forest had the least. This study shows that masked titi monkeys may be able to survive in disturbed forest habitats if these areas are of high enough quality to contain sufficient food and other resources.


Author(s):  
Emily R Hager ◽  
Hopi E Hoekstra

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.


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