Towards a habitat model for the New Holland Mouse Pseudomys novaehollandiae in Tasmania ? population vegetation associations and an investigation into individual habitat use.

Abstract

Sixteen study sites across the known north-south range of Pseudomys novaehollandiae in Tasmania were live trapped, and measures of floristic presence and abundance were recorded at each site. Multivariate analysis was used to quantify similarities and differences in plant assemblages at each of the study sites; these included historic sites (sites where P. novaehollandiae had been confirmed to be present 12 years previously) and sites supporting vegetation known to have supported the mouse elsewhere in its range, but from which it had not been recorded. A strong association between P. novaehollandiae capture sites and the occurrence and abundance of the plants Aotus ericoides, Hypolaena fastigiata, Lepidosperma concavum and Xanthorrhoea spp. was found. Nine individual P. novaehollandiae were radio-tracked on one study area to investigate whether the apparent habitat preferences of P. novaehollandiae observed at the population/site level were reflected by individual habitat use. Two individuals were on occasion radio-located in a She-oak stand, a habitat type not typically associated with populations of P. novaehollandiae. Burrow sharing and overlap of home ranges were recorded. Results are interpreted with a view to developing an effective predictive habitat model for P. novaehollandiae in Tasmania.