POPULATION AND COMMUNITY ECOLOGY OF SMALL RODENTS IN MONTANE FOREST OF WESTERN MEXICO

Abstract

Abstract This study reports results of a 14-month live-trap study of small-rodent communities in 2 habitats, cloud forest and disturbed areas, at Las Joyas Scientific Station of the Sierra de Manantlan Biosphere Reserve, western Mexico. Seven taxa of 2 families (Muridae, Heteromyidae) of small rodents were captured (Hodomys alleni, Liomys pictus, Oryzomys couesi, Peromyscus aztecus, Reithrodontomys fulvescens, R. sumichrasti, and Sigmodon alleni). Information about age structure, population dynamics, biomass, and reproduction were obtained with mark–recapture techniques for the most abundant species (P. aztecus and R. fulvescens) in both habitats. These species comprised 80.3% of the 707 captures in the cloud forest (P. aztecus, 51.2%; R. fulvescens, 29.1%), whereas, in the disturbed areas, R. fulvescens represented 81.7% of the 916 captures. Species varied in population density, relative abundance, and timing of reproduction, which was seasonal. Reproductive activity for P. aztecus peaked in the middle o...