Demography of populations of deer mice in coastal forest and clear-cut (logged) habitats

Abstract

This study was designed to test the widely held hypothesis that clear-cut (logged) habitats support higher density populations of Peromyscus than do forested habitats. Deer mouse populations were livetrapped in forest and clear-cut habitats at Maple Ridge, British Columbia, from May 1975 to April 1978. The average density of mice per hectare in the forest was 19.6(1975), 15.8(1976), 22.3(1977), and on the clear-cut areas was 23.3(1975), 16.6(1976), 29.9(1977). The slightly higher number of animals on the clear-cutting in 1975 and 1977 reflected a burst of recruitment in the late summer and fall of each year. The density of mice on clear-cut areas declined during each winter to a level comparable with that of the forest. Juvenile male deer mice were able to enter into the clear-cutting populations during the breeding season in the first year after logging. Recently logged areas may be acting as dispersal or behavioural sinks.