Master of Science, Miami University, 2003, Zoology

Recent evidence indicates that cold weather has been ending earlier each year in Michigan, which appears to be allowing Peromyscus leucopus to displace P. maniculatus from the Lower Peninsula. P. leucopus in northern Michigan may breed earlier in the spring than P. maniculatus when winters end early. If winters are long, maniculatus have greater overwinter survivorship. The species with the greater relative abundance in the spring may have an advantage in establishing and maintaining home ranges. I found that maniculatus was present earlier than leucopus in the spring of 2002, which is consistent with the relatively late date of ice-out that year. Territory holders had a general advantage in dominance trials, which may explain why maniculatus remained more abundant throughout the breeding season. These results suggest that cold winters increase the relative abundance of maniculatus while warmer winters increase leucopus abundance in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

Committee: Susan Hoffman (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1971, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, Miami University, 2024, Biology

Lyme disease, caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi , is transmitted to humans through ticks, and it has become an increasing problem in the Midwest. In recent years, cases have been expanding from a hotspot in Wisconsin to Michigan's Lower Peninsula (LP) along the coastline of Lake Michigan. The expansion of cases coincides with increasing populations of deer tick, Ixodes scapularis , and of the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus , which serves as the primary reservoir host for the bacterium. A study from 2010 testing the infection prevalence in both deer ticks and white-footed mice found no infections in either species in most of the northern LP. For this study, mice were trapped along a transect from the edge of the known range of infected mice northeastwards toward the tip of the LP. Infected mice and ticks were found more than 100km beyond the previous limit but were not found along the eastern part of the transect. The proportion of P. leucopus carrying ticks was correlated with higher infection prevalence in both ticks and mice.

Committee: Susan Hoffman (Advisor); Brian Keane (Committee Member); Tereza Jezkova (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1960, Biological Sciences

Committee: William B. Jackson (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 1960, Biological Sciences

Committee: William B. Jackson (Advisor) Subjects: Biology

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Arts and Sciences : Biological Sciences

Arboreal habitats pose several challenges for locomotion resulting from narrow cylindrical surfaces, steep inclines, and branches that obstruct straight paths. I determined whether different diameters, inclines, or complexity of branches affected speed of movement and path choice for a semi-arboreal rodent (Peromyscus leucopus). We videotaped laboratory trials of locomotor performance of mice running on cylinders with diameters of 10, 16, 28, 54, and 116 mm, oriented at inclines of 0° and 45° (uphill and downhill), and a subset of diameters horizontally oriented that had secondary branches (pegs) every 10 or 20 cm. For similar branch diameters the speeds of mice were usually faster when running horizontally rather than on inclines, and pegs decreased running speed compared to unobstructed surfaces. When pegs were present, the frequency and duration of pauses increased, speed decreased with decreased distance between pegs, and larger diameters enhanced speeds by reducing the need of mice to use a convoluted trajectory to avoid the pegs. The difficulties of maintaining balance and avoiding toppling seem likely to have caused much of the decrease in speed and increased amounts of pausing. Thus, branch diameter, incline, and the presence of and spacing of secondary branches often had widespread and significant interactive effects on locomotor performance, and additional experiments revealed some of these factors significantly influenced the routes chosen by mice.

Committee: Guy Cameron PhD (Committee Chair); Bruce Jayne PhD (Committee Member); Kenneth Petren PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Arts and Sciences : Biological Sciences

Although there is a great deal of literature detailing changes in the demography of small mammals at habitat edges, few studies measure spatial use, and even fewer agree on a definition of edge, or attempt to measure or control differences in edge habitat. The objective of this study was to determine whether space use by the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) varied in forest adjacent to agriculture along a habitat gradient from forest edge to forest interior. In this way edge was not artificially defined, but rather was linked to spatial changes exhibited by the white-footed mouse and to existing vegetation gradients along an edge-to-interior gradient. We also compared these results to those from artificially defined edges. Movement and vertical use by female P. leucopus increased along a gradient of changing edge-to-interior habitat variables while male movement did not change. Artificial definitions of edge yielded differing results emphasizing this method's measurement bias.

Committee: Dr. Guy Cameron (Advisor) Subjects:

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Arts and Sciences : Biological Sciences

Parasitism is a common interaction between species in which one species, the parasite, gains a benefit at the expense of the other, the host. Parasitism can have far-reaching effects on the population biology and behavior of both species involved. A common parasite-host system is that between bot flies (Cuterebra fontinella) and white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus). Although this interaction has been studied extensively, the cost of parasitism to the host is unclear. The goals of this research were to investigate the effects of bot fly parasitism on (1) population dynamics, (2) reproductive behavior, and (3) individual movement of P. leucopus. This approach attempted to understand how bot fly parasitism affects host populations by looking at host population dynamics directly, and by investigating the effects of parasitism on individual behavior. None of the data collected conclusively supported the idea that P. leucopus suffers a cost due to association with bot flies. Results showed that although some individuals harbored several infections during the season, they tended to have a single bot at a time. This, in conjunction with the observed asynchronous pattern of infection and reproduction, lends support to the conclusion that bot flies did not adversely affect the host population, perhaps due to increased tolerance of the host to this common parasite. Expectations about negative effects of bot flies on reproductive behavior were also not supported. Contrary to predictions, uninfected males were not more aggressive than infected males, and reproductive females showed a preference for males infected with bot flies. Finally, although there was no effect of infection on male movement, there was a tendency for females to decrease movement during infection. Taken together, the results of this research suggest that bot flies may have been in such close association with P. leucopus that the host has developed a tolerance for this common parasite.

Committee: Dr. Guy Cameron (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1977, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology

Committee: Tony Peterle (Advisor) Subjects:

Bachelor of Science, Miami University, 2010, College of Arts and Sciences - Zoology

Numerous studies of forest fragmentation have found a negative relationship between the density of Peromyscus leucopus (the white-footed mouse) and forest fragment size. This relationship may be caused, in part, by both more food (primary production) and more cover from predation in smaller fragments, which have more structurally complex understory vegetation than larger fragments. However, the influence of the proximity of understory vegetation on selection of nesting sites in specific locations within the fragment had not been studied. I hypothesized that nestboxes in highly vegetated areas would be utilized more often by P. leucopus than nestboxes in sparsely vegetated areas. I tested this hypothesis by measuring the amount of vegetation near thirty nestboxes in each of nine forest fragments. I also estimated the relative population density of P. leucopus in each fragment. I expected to find both a greater proportion of nestboxes occupied and a greater number of mice in nestboxes with a high amount of nearby vegetation. The structural complexity of understory vegetation was significantly greater in small forest fragments than in large and in edge habitat than interior. However, there was no relationship between any of the variables we measured and the density of mice, other than boxes being occupied more frequently in habitat where more mice were present. Additionally, none of the variables we measured were related to the probability of the nestbox being occupied. My results suggest that the complexity of vegetation immediately surrounding the nestbox may not be as important to mice as vegetation at a larger scale (e.g. throughout the individual's territory).

Committee: Douglas Meikle PhD (Advisor); Nancy Solomon PhD (Committee Member); Gregg Marcello (Committee Member) Subjects: Agriculture; Animals; Behaviorial Sciences; Biology; Ecology; Environmental Science; Forestry; Zoology

Master of Science, Miami University, 2005, Zoology

The purpose of this study was to examine some of the possible causes for the negative density-area relationship reported for the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus. I examined predation and food availability in three small and three large forest fragments. Giving up density trays and various odors were used to test the variation in foraging behavior in the presence of a predator odor. Nest boxes and counts of periodical cicada emergence holes were used to test the effects of an emergence of periodical cicadas on P. leucopus population densities. Predator odors had no effect on foraging behaviors. P. leucopus responded to indirect, but not direct, cues of predation. Estimated densities of periodical cicada emergence holes were strongly related to the relative population density of P. leucopus. Continued study of predation and food differences in forest fragments of different sizes is needed to further examine the negative density-area relationship of P. leucopus.

Committee: Douglas Meikle (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2004, Zoology

Fragmentation of forests has led to the creation of forest patches that differ in size, proportion of edge habitat, and degree of isolation. Although densities of many mammalian species are positively related to patch area, there appears to be a general negative relationship between density of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and patch area. In Chapters 2 – 5, I investigated both resource-based (i.e., vegetation characteristics) and dispersal-based (i.e., inhibited dispersal and sink) hypotheses to explain the negative density – area relationship using live-trapping data and DNA-microsatellite analyses. As an extension of how forest fragmentation may affect movements by this habitat generalist into and out of habitats, in Chapter 6 I focused on how patch isolation influences population genetic structure. Data were collected from 1999 to 2001 in 15 different patches of various sizes and degrees of isolation. I confirmed that relative abundance of P. leucopus was negatively related to forest patch area (Chapter 2). My results indicated that relative abundance of P. leucopus was positively related to structural complexity of understory vegetation and total basal area of trees, and tended to be negatively related to the species richness of trees (Chapter 2 and 3). Although I was unable to differentiate whether understory vegetation results in higher relative abundances due to food or cover, the results suggest that vegetation characteristics contribute to the negative density – area relationship. Based on live-trapping data and DNA-microsatellite analyses, I rejected both dispersal-based hypotheses to explain the effect of patch area on relative abundance of P. leucopus (Chapters 4 and 5). Within-population genetic variation was high across populations, and only 50% of individuals could be assigned to their population of capture based on multilocus genotypes, suggesting high rates of gene flow. Degree of isolation and landscape structure had a small but significa (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Douglas Meikle (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science, Miami University, 2003, Zoology

Several investigators have documented a negative density-area relationship (i.e. higher population densities in smaller fragments) for Peromyscus leucopus (the white-footed mouse). The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if high densities of P. leucopus are consistent among seasons and if higher densities may be due to greater reproduction, as a result of higher food availability, in small than large fragments. Observations of nest box use suggest that relative density and reproduction in small and large fragments differ among seasons. Higher densities in small than large fragments were only documented during the fall season. Observations of foraging patch use combined with reproductive data suggest that greater food availability in the edge may allow greater reproduction and thus contribute to higher densities in small fragments. Dense edge vegetation may be the primary contributor to greater food availability, although there is some evidence that there may be fewer competitors in small fragments.

Committee: Douglas Meikle (Advisor) Subjects: