Population Ecology of the Western Harvest Mouse, Reithrodontomys megalotis: A Long-Term Perspective

Abstract

Twelve years of monthly trapping data were used to analyze the long-term population dynamics and demography of Reithrodontomys megalotis in southeastern Arizona. The population showed large variation in density and in proportion of individuals in reproductive condition. The great variation in proportion of females in reproductive condition suggests that females are reproductively facultative and will reproduce if conditions permit. Harvest mice on the study site show strong source-sink dynamics, because there were wide fluctuations in population density, several local extinction events, few juveniles captured on the site, low persistence, and common long-distance movements. The main characteristic of the population of R. megalotis in this habitat is variation.