scholarly journals Urine marking of cages and visual isolation as possible sources of error in behavioural studies of small mammals

1971 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne I. Dagg ◽  
W. L. Bell ◽  
D. E. Windsor
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Mesocricetus Auratus ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Tamias Striatus ◽  
Organ Weights ◽  
Sources Of Error ◽  
Urine Marking

Chipmunks ( Tamias striatus), jumping mice ( Zapus hudsonius), voles ( Microtus pennsylvanicus), deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculalus), hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus), house mice ( Mus musculus) and gerbils ( Meriones unguiculalus) were individually confined in dark cages. A corner of each cage had been marked with dried urine. Animals tended (311 of 461 tests) to urinate in the marked corner. Animals did not usually urinate (except adult gerbils) or defecate (except hamsters) in their nests. The effect of visual isolation of individual mice was not apparent in organ weights, but did lead to altered behaviour.

Trypanosomes of small mammals in southern Ontario

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. T. K. Woo ◽  
D. R. Grant ◽  
L. McLean
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Peromyscus Maniculatus ◽  
Original Description ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Blarina Brevicauda ◽  
Tamias Striatus ◽  
Southern Ontario

Using the haematocrit centrifuge technique, 53 of 619 small mammals from seven areas in southern Ontario were found to be infected with three species of trypanosomes. Trypanosoma microti was found in 10 of 374 (2.7%) Microtus pennsylvanicus examined from two of five locations. Thirty-five of 102 (34%) of Tamias striatus from one area were infected with Trypanosoma tamiasi and over 94% (33 of 35) of the infected animals were juveniles. This would indicate that the trypanosome is primarily a parasite of juveniles. A trypanosome which was tentatively identified as Trypanosoma soricis was found in 8 of 36 (22%) Blarina brevicauda; it was recorded from two of four areas where the shrews were caught. A detailed description of the trypanosome was given because the original description was inadequate. No trypanosome was found in 74 Peromyscus maniculatus, 31 Mus musculus, and 2 Zapus hudsonius examined.

scholarly journals An assessment of seedling damage by wild house mice (Mus musculus) and wild deer mice (Peromyscus spp.)

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1168-1172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary W. Witmer ◽  
Nathan P. Snow ◽  
Rachael S. Moulton ◽  
Jenna L. Swartz
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Seedling Mortality ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Pine Seedlings ◽  
Wild House Mice

Although it is known that voles will damage seedlings, we do not know the extent to which deer mice (Peromyscus spp.) and house mice (Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758) damage seedlings. Knowing this information can assist resource managers in better targeting problem species and implementing appropriate management actions. We planted and monitored ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex Lawson & C. Lawson) and narrow-leaf cottonwood (Populus angustifolia E. James) seedlings in metal stock tanks occupied by deer mice or house mice to assess the potential for damage by these rodents. Both species damaged leaves and stems of cottonwood seedlings, but house mice did more damage. House mouse damage resulted in mortality of over half of the cottonwood seedlings, whereas deer mice caused a much lower level of seedling mortality. Only slight damage was done by either species to pine seedlings. Neither species damaged the roots of seedlings, despite the extensive burrowing by house mice. Although voles are often considered to be the primary rodent species causing seedling damage, we have shown that deer mice and especially house mice could also cause substantial damage to deciduous seedlings. However, our work suggests that rodent control to prevent damage to conifer seedlings might not be warranted in general unless there are extenuating circumstances and the species causing the damage are identified to assist with targeting control methods more precisely.

Tests of emigration in small mammals under experimental conditions

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 2056-2060 ◽  
Author(s):  
A R Nelson ◽  
C L Johnson ◽  
W J Matter ◽  
R W Mannan
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Constant Number ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Conspecific Adult ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Experimental Enclosure

Holding animals in enclosures that block emigration causes demographic abnormalities called "fence effects." Experimenters have built exits that require animals to move through unfavorable conditions to leave enclosures. There are doubts about whether individuals that cross these challenging exits are true emigrants. We tested whether an exit that required house mice (Mus musculus) to swim through a water-filled trough was used only by mice triggered to emigrate from an experimental enclosure. Also, we examined the responses of mice to the availability of resources and the presence of conspecific adult animals in a small enclosure with an exit and in an enclosure made by joining two single enclosures. All mice left a barren enclosure within 12 h but no mice left during 7-day trials in a resource-rich enclosure during spring and summer. At the end of trials with repeated introduction of pairs of mice, about 85% of resident mice were the first mice added. Nearly all mice added later left the enclosure. A relatively constant number of mice became residents in small enclosures and about 2.3 times as many mice resided in double enclosures. Mice readily found and used exits when motivated to leave and did not accidentally pass through exits during routine exploration. Thus, mice that stayed in enclosures were not "fenced in" by the water-filled exit and exhibited residency as in nature. Tests of exits should give ecologists confidence that animals can display normal residency and emigration behaviors in experimental settings. The defense of resources by residents and the emigration of excess animals resulted in a consistent limit to the number of animals able to reside in enclosures.

Mus musculus and Peromyscus maniculatus: homing ability in relation to habitat utilization

1977 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul K. Anderson ◽  
George E. Heinsohn ◽  
Paul H. Whitney ◽  
Jean-Pierre Huang
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Home Range ◽  
House Mouse ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Habitat Utilization ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Homing Behaviour ◽  
Large Home Range

House mice displaced from established home ranges in grassland on Great Gull Island, New York, exhibited homing behaviour. This behaviour was associated with large home range, wandering before home range establishment, and forays outside the range. When both house mice and deer mice inhabiting granaries in grassland in Alberta were displaced, homing behaviour was poorly expressed in house mice, but well developed in deer mice. The poorly developed homing tendency of Alberta house mice was associated with a pattern of habitat utilization that appeared to limit familiarity with areas outside the home range. While this result does not explicitly eliminate a role for a direction-finding ability in house mouse homing, it does emphasize the importance of familiarity with terrain external to the home range.

scholarly journals EXPERIMENTAL INOCULATION OF MEADOW VOLES (MICROTUS PENNSYLVANICUS), HOUSE MICE (MUS MUSCULUS), AND NORWAY RATS (RATTUS NORVEGICUS) WITH MYCOBACTERIUM BOVIS

2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy-Anne R. Clarke ◽  
Scott D. Fitzgerald ◽  
Laura S. Zwick ◽  
Steven V. Church ◽  
John B. Kaneene ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Bovis ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Rattus Norvegicus ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Experimental Inoculation ◽  
Norway Rats

The contribution of raptorial birds to patterning in small mammal assemblages

Paleobiology ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammal ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Interspecies Variability ◽  
Fossil Assemblages ◽  
Mammal Assemblages

Seven taxa of raptorial birds were experimentally fed a controlled sample of 50 house mice (Mus musculus). Bones recovered from the pellets were examined for interspecies variability in preservation to assess the potential contribution of specific raptors to patterning in fossil assemblages. Quantitative analyses demonstrate that patterns in bone fragmentation may assist in the identification of particular raptor species as depositional agents in small mammal assemblages.

scholarly journals Insights into mammalian biology from the wild house mouse Mus musculus

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Phifer-Rixey ◽  
Michael W Nachman
Keyword(s):  
House Mouse ◽  
Mus Musculus ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Inbred Strains ◽  
Mendelian Inheritance ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Wild Mice ◽  
Wide Range

The house mouse, Mus musculus, was established in the early 1900s as one of the first genetic model organisms owing to its short generation time, comparatively large litters, ease of husbandry, and visible phenotypic variants. For these reasons and because they are mammals, house mice are well suited to serve as models for human phenotypes and disease. House mice in the wild consist of at least three distinct subspecies and harbor extensive genetic and phenotypic variation both within and between these subspecies. Wild mice have been used to study a wide range of biological processes, including immunity, cancer, male sterility, adaptive evolution, and non-Mendelian inheritance. Despite the extensive variation that exists among wild mice, classical laboratory strains are derived from a limited set of founders and thus contain only a small subset of this variation. Continued efforts to study wild house mice and to create new inbred strains from wild populations have the potential to strengthen house mice as a model system.

Phylogeography of Chinese house mice (Mus musculus musculus/castaneus): distribution, routes of colonization and geographic regions of hybridization

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (17) ◽  
pp. 4387-4405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meidong Jing ◽  
Hon-Tsen Yu ◽  
Xiaoxin Bi ◽  
Yung-Chih Lai ◽  
Wei Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mus Musculus ◽  
House Mice ◽  
Mus Musculus Musculus ◽  
Geographic Regions
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