Population characteristics of house mice (Mus musculus) on southern Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
Helen P. WaudbySustainable Environments Research Group, School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia. Email: helen.waudby@unisa.edu.au
Australian Mammalogy 31(2) 111-115 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM08021
Submitted: 17 December 2008 Accepted: 24 September 2009 Published: 6 November 2009
Abstract
Seasonal population characteristics of house mice (Mus musculus), including the effect of season on body mass, were studied at Innes National Park, southern Yorke Peninsula. Mice were caught with Elliott traps, ear-notched, and released. Over 1550 trap-nights (January to December 2006, excluding May), 202 mice were caught. The overall capture success rate was 13.03 mice per 100 trap-nights. The recapture rate was 42.57%. Body mass of adult house mice varied significantly among seasons (P = 0.009). In particular, mouse body mass varied between autumn and winter (P = 0.018), and spring and winter (P = 0.023). The body mass of mice captured in autumn and then recaptured in winter was also significantly different (P = 0.006). This study is the first published for M. musculus population characteristics on Yorke Peninsula and adds to the relatively limited information available on house mouse populations in non-agricultural habitats.
Additional keywords: breeding activity, National Park, recapture rates, reproduction.
Acknowledgements
Sincere thanks to Topa S. Petit, who encouraged my investigations and assisted with the acquisition of funding, and development of the manuscript. Many thanks to Katherine Brownlie, Sarah Buckley, Alan Dickens, Christopher Havelberg, Michael Jervois, Serina Lattanzio, Larissa Lauder, Damian Morrant, James Tomlinson, Ashley Walker, Brian White, Michael Rosewarne, and the Northern and Yorke Region Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH) staff. I am also grateful to Denise Noack and Annette Scanlon for their comments on the manuscript, and to Graham Medlin for his advice on house mouse taxonomy. The comments of two anonymous reviewers assisted with the revision of this article. This research was part-funded by a Summer Research Scholarship from the University of South Australia. Ethics approval and permits for trapping and handling of mice were granted by the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science Animal Ethics Committee (authorisation no.: 92/05) and the South Australian DEH (permit no.: K25073 1).
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