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As methods and successes of Rattus rattus (ship rat) control progress, particularly in island environments, the importance of managing Mus musculus (house mouse) increases. M. musculus can negatively impact on a variety of native fauna and flora, potentially creating long term cascading effects. M....
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.494.208 http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10063/863/thesis.pdf?sequence=1 |
| Summary: | As methods and successes of Rattus rattus (ship rat) control progress, particularly in island environments, the importance of managing Mus musculus (house mouse) increases. M. musculus can negatively impact on a variety of native fauna and flora, potentially creating long term cascading effects. M. musculus populations benefit with the reduction in R. rattus abundance and recover sooner from pest control programs. This three-part study investigated the habitat utilisation of M. musculus and how their relationship with R. rattus influences their habitat preferences. Firstly, hypotheses about the habitat preferences of M. musculus were tested over a landscape scale to determine the features of the environment most important to their distribution. Then the direct effect of R. rattus presence on M. musculus habitat-use was investigated in arena trials. Lastly, in the same arenas, canopy cover was tested as an indirect cue for M. musculus to evaluate the presence of R. rattus. Across 32 sites, M. musculus were the most abundant in warm dry habitats. North facing slopes and rank grass cover were the features of the environment that had the strongest relationship with |
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