The Ecology of the Salt-Marsh Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris) in a Diked Salt Marsh

1988 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 696-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Geissel ◽  
H. Shellhammer ◽  
H. T. Harvey
Keyword(s):  
2011 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 1498-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Sustaita ◽  
Patty Finfrock Quickert ◽  
Laura Patterson ◽  
Laureen Barthman-Thompson ◽  
Sarah Estrella
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Katherine R. Smith ◽  
◽  
Melissa K. Riley ◽  
Laureen Barthman–Thompson ◽  
Isa Woo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
pp. 367-381
Author(s):  
Mark J. Statham ◽  
Laureen Barthman-Thompson ◽  
Susan Fresquez ◽  
Benjamin N. Sacks

The salt marsh harvest mouse (SMHM; Reithrodontomys raviventris) is a state and federally listed endangered species endemic to the coastal marshes of the San Francisco Estuary of California. Of two subspecies, the southern (R. r. raviventris) is most endangered and lacks reliable morphological field tools to distinguish from the sympatric western harvest mouse (WHM; R. megalotis). We trapped and collected genetic samples and morphological data from 204 harvest mice from 14 locations from across the range of the southern SMHM. Genetic species identification indicated these to be composed of 48 SMHM and 156 WHM, which we compared at ten morphological characters. Most continuous characters overlapped between species. Color characters were significantly differentiated and we identified a number of species-specific diagnostic pelage categories in both species. A random forest analysis indicated that ventral coloration of the abdomen and the ventral tail hair color were the most useful for differentiating between species. We used these two morphological characters to develop a decision tree which correctly classified 94% of harvest mice to species with 99% accuracy. These findings suggest that our decision tree can be used to reliably identify the species of most harvest mice in the range of the southern SMHM, with a small proportion (6% in our study) needing genetic confirmation. The decision tree should be tested on additional harvest mice that were not used in its development, particularly from novel locations across the range.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1055-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Statham ◽  
S. Aamoth ◽  
L. Barthman-Thompson ◽  
S. Estrella ◽  
S. Fresquez ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-78
Author(s):  
Mitchell Schwarzer

This article tells the story of artist Todd Gilens' "Endangered Species" project, where four municipal buses in San Francisco were each wrapped with a photograph of a different animal in danger of extinction: a Mission Blue Butterfly; a Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse; a Brown Pelican; and a Pacific Coho Salmon. Besides alerting passersby to environmental degradation, this art project, which ran throughout 2011, reverses the customary tactics of outdoor advertising. Outdoor ads promote products and block our sense of place. By contrast, wrapping images of California's troubled animal habitats on moving buses promotes a complex environmental and historical message: the urban development all around us sits atop what had been the original skin of the earth. In telling the story of the animal-wrapped buses within the greater history of outdoor advertising and mass transit, I connect the fates of endangered natural ecosystems with their cultural counterparts such as the city's bus system.


2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-142
Author(s):  
Katherine R Smith ◽  
Laureen M Barthman-Thompson ◽  
Sarah K Estrella ◽  
Melissa K Riley ◽  
Sadie N Trombley ◽  
...  

Abstract Suisun Marsh (Solano County, California) is the largest contiguous marsh remaining on the West Coast of the United States, and makes up approximately 10% of the wetlands remaining in the San Francisco Estuary. Suisun Marsh has been safeguarded from development through the operation of over 100 privately owned waterfowl hunting clubs, which manage for diked waterfowl habitat. However, this management—and the subsequent loss of tidal influence—has been considered harmful for some species, including the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (SMHM; Reithrodontomys raviventris). To determine the value of tidal wetlands relative to those managed for waterfowl, we performed periodic surveys for rodents in managed and tidal wetlands over 5 years, and used capture-mark-recapture analyses to estimate demographic parameters and abundance for the three most common rodents—the northern SMHM (R. r. halicoetes), the western harvest mouse (a sympatric native species; R. megalotis, WHM), and the house mouse (a sympatric invasive species; Mus musculus). Wetland type had no effect on detection, temporary emigration, or survival for any of these species. However, fecundity and population growth for all three species were affected by an interaction of season and wetland type, although none of these parameters was consistently superior in either habitat type. Estimated abundance of SMHM and Mus was similar in both wetland types, whereas WHM were more abundant in managed wetlands. Salt marsh harvest mice also showed no affinity for any microhabitat characteristics associated with tidal wetlands. Managed wetlands in Suisun Marsh support SMHM and Mus equally, and abundances of WHM were greater than in tidal wetlands, suggesting managed wetlands may be superior in terms of supporting native rodents. As climate change and sea level rise are predicted to threaten coastal marshes, these results suggest the recovery strategy for SMHM could incorporate managed wetlands.


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