Foraging Site Preferences and Relative Arboreality of Small Rodents in Florida

Abstract

-Foraging microhabitat preferences of Ochrotomys nuttalli, Peromyscus gossypinus, P. polionotus, Podomys floridanus and Sigmodon hispidus in two major vegetation associations in S-central Florida were studied by placing bait containing different-colored plastic marker on the ground in structurally open and closed sites and in trees and recovering the markers from feces of live-trapped individuals. The average proportion of fecal samples containing marker ranged from 47-74% among the five species. Based on frequencies of different colors of marker in feces, there were no significant differences among species in extent of foraging in open and closed ground sites, and all foraged significantly more on the ground than in trees. Interspecific differences in the amount of arboreal activity were generally consistent with predictions based on the morphology, behavior and ecology of the species, although Ochrotomys foraged more frequently on the ground and the other four species more frequently in trees than expected. The rankings of species in two other measures of arboreal tendency were generally similar to that with marked baits, although Ochrotomys was more arboreal and the other species less so, than in the marked-bait study.