Phenotypic plasticity in skull and dental morphology in the prairie deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii)
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Morphologists and systematists have long suspected that dietary consistency can affect skull and dental form in mammals. We examined plasticity of skull shape and tooth morphology in prairie deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii) by feeding mice diets that differed in consistency but not nutritional quality. Shape differences were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, using both landmark-based morphometrics and traditional distance measurements. Mice fed a gruel made of laboratory chow soaked in water differed from those fed hard blocks of chow by a slight anterior shift in the incisor tips a narrowed zygomatic plate, a reduction in size of the masseteric tubercles, an overall decrease in skull size in lateral view, and an increase in overall size in ventral view. Disparities between our results and previous studies may be due to the differences in behavior between the inbred, relatively inactive laboratory strains commonly used in experimental studies and the outbred, constantly active species used here. Also, in contrast to previous studies, the statistical analysis employed here took into account both family relationships of the animals and the large number of statistical comparisons performed. Failure to consider these factors would have resulted in an exaggerated estimate of the effects of diet on skull form and may taint other studies that have explored the same aspects of plasticity. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Keywords:
Deer mouse
Morphology
Helicobacter species can be found in a wide variety of animals and remain common contaminants of laboratory rodents. Fostering of neonatal pups has been used to eliminate Helicobacter spp. from various laboratory rodents, including laboratory mice and gerbils. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) from a captive colony enzootic for at least one Helicobacter species were mated, and the pups produced were fostered on laboratory mice 24 h after birth. After 2 rounds of fostering, both foster dams and pups were free of Helicobacter spp. as determined by fecal PCR analysis. Removal of Helicobacter infection through neonatal fostering has not been described previously for Peromyscus maniculatus.
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Human genetics
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Two structurally distinct sarcocysts with thin and thick walls were found in 25 of 98 deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) in Montana. Thin-walled S. idahoensis sarcocysts were seen in 11 mice. Thick-walled sarcocysts were seen in 13 mice. A new name, S. peromysci, is proposed for the thick-walled sarcocysts. Sarcocystis peromysci sarcocysts were up to 1875 × 81 μm and contained 11.2 × 3.1 μm bradyzoites with prominent granules. The sarcocyst wall was 2–5.5 μm thick and had hairlike protrusions on its wall.
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In a laboratory situation, social interactions and individual differences in Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi influence the rate at which juveniles leave their natal site. In a family group the father attracted the juveniles and did not expel them. The social influence of the mother depended upon the presence of a subsequent litter and her aggressiveness in defending her litters against conspecifics. Females were classified as aggressive or nonaggressive depending on whether or not they attacked a strange juvenile. An aggressive mother with a subsequent litter increased the rate of departure of her previous litter. Litter mates tended to leave together and no sex differences were found. Family differences in the rate of departure from the natal site were found when the litter members were tested separately. Social behaviors within family groups of P. m. bairdi influenced the rate at which juveniles leave their natal site. INTRODUCTION Social behavior probably mediates many of the factors influencing the initiation of dispersal in mammals, specifically leaving the natal site. The social interactions contributing to the departure of juveniles from their natal site have only been postulated. Individual differences among juveniles may reflect differences in social stimuli or differences in their sensitivity to these stimuli. Perornyscus maniculatus bairdi was chosen as the experimental species because it is socially organized into family groups, it is adaptable to the laboratory, and a relatively large amount of information is available on its movements in the field (Howard, 1949; Dice and Howard, 1951; Stickel, 1968) and on its population dynamics (Terman, 1968). However, several decades of field work on Peromyscus have contributed almost nothing to our knowledge of the behavioral interaction between family members in this genus. This paper presents the results of an experimental laboratory investigation of the hypothesis: Social factors and individual differences determine the rate of natal site departure of young P. m. bairdi. METHODS AND MATERIALS This work was carried out in the laboratory where weather, light, habitat and physical barriers could be controlled. A shock grid served as a barrier between two identical cages, thus maintaining a constant barrier to the departure of juveniles from their home cage. Several types of barriers (water, maze and shock) were considered. Shock permitted control of the intensity of the barrier and was the most effective in suppressing travel between the two, cages as determined in preliminary studies by photoelectric cell counts. The shock level used 1 Present address: Biomathematics Program, Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27607.
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Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is an often-fatal disease caused by New World hantaviruses, such as Sin Nombre orthohantavirus (SNV). In the US, >800 cases of HPS have been confirmed since it was first discovered in 1993, of which 43 were reported from the state of Montana. The primary cause of HPS in the US is SNV, which is primarily found in the reservoir host Peromyscus maniculatus (deer mouse). The reservoir host covers most of the US, including Montana, where multiple studies found SNV in local deer mouse populations. This study aimed to check the prevalence of SNV in the deer mice at popular recreation sites throughout the Bitterroot Valley in Western Montana as compared to previous studies in western Montana. We found high prevalence (up to 20%) of deer mice positive for SNV RNA in the lungs. We were unable to obtain a SNV tissue culture isolate from the lungs but could passage SNV from lung tissue into naïve deer mice. Our findings demonstrate continuing circulation of SNV in western Montana.
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Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
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Wildfire triggers an increase in deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) abundance. Here, I describe this phenomenon, investigate its causes, and explore the consequences of the postfire increase in mice for conifer recruitment in burned forest. I documented a shift in small mammal communities away from more specialized species such as red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi) and shrews (Sorex spp.) and towards greater abundance of generalist deer mice after a wildfire in montane forest. I conducted a meta-analysis of published studies on the abundance of small mammals in disturbed versus undisturbed forests and established that the pattern of increased deer mouse abundance holds for both natural (wildfire) and anthropogenic (different forms of forest harvest) disturbances. However, the postfire increase is significantly stronger than the increase after logging. In another forest wildfire, I tested the four most commonly proposed explanations of this increase: (1) greater abundance of food resources in burned areas, (2) increased foraging efficiency of deer mice, (3), predatory release, and (4) source - sink dynamics, with burned areas acting as high abundance dispersal sink. However, none were supported by data. Thus, I concluded that the existing explanations of postfire increase in deer mouse abundance are unsatisfactory. Finally, I investigated the magnitude and impact of seed predation by deer mice in burned and unburned forest. In seed offerings experiments, overnight conifer seed removal associated with deer mice was more intense in burned than in unburned stands. In germination experiments, emergence of seedlings in cages with openings that allowed access by deer mice was extremely rare in burned and unburned forest. However, in closed cages (deer mice excluded), seedling emergence was low in unburned forest, but considerably higher in burned forest. Wildfire created favorable conditions for seedling recruitment but seed predation by deer mice appeared to remove this advantage.
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