Abstract
We examined individual and population responses of the rock mouse, Peromyscus difficilis, to experimental changes in food abundance. Two food addition experiments lasting 4 months were carried out during breeding and non-breeding seasons to test the hypothesis that females are more responsive to food resources than are males, especially during reproduction. On two grids, we added food on relatively widely spaced point sources to compare effects within grids on fed and unfed mice. We also compared populations on two treatment grids and a control grid. Food addition resulted in increased immigration, earlier breeding, and increased reproduction in contrast to the control grid. Improvement of summer survival was evident only when analysis was undertaken at a fine scale; fed individuals showed longer residence times. Females gained weight and had improved reproduction, and improved survival, during both wet and dry seasons. Males responded less consistently than did females.
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