Habitat Preference of Peromyscus

• Jonathan Borrelli

  Juniata College

  Author

• George Braun

  Juniata College

  Author

• Nicole Lundberg

  Juniata College

  Author

• Jess Michelangelo

  Juniata College

  Author

• Elaine Pang

  Juniata College

  Author

Mice in the genus Peromyscus are widely distributed throughout North America. Two species, Peromyscus leucopus and Peromyscus maniculatus, are able to live in a variety of different habitats. Past researchers have found that in general these mice prefer to live in habitats characterized by forest or shrubby structure. We wanted to know whether or not Peromyscus in the vicinity of the Maya Lin Peace Chapel in Huntingdon PA had this same preference. To test the hypothesis that Peromyscus prefer to live in forest type habitats, we set up 100 Sherman live traps on a hillside near the Peace Chapel. Three habitat types were covered including grassy areas, shrub, and forest. Our results indicate that there is a definite preference of Peromyscus to be in shrub and forest type habitats. No mice were captured in grassy areas, three mice were captured in shrub areas, and two mice were captured in forested areas. It is probable that the protection offered by the overhanging coverage from aerial predators is the reason behind this preference.

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