Poster: Novel Insights Into the Diet of the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
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Novel Insights into the Diet of the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse Edgerton, EM1; Rose, CR1,2 IntroducBon Methods Results of Preliminary Data The endangered salt marsh harvest mouse Capture mice in Even though native (Reithrodontomys raviventris, SMHM) is plant species were endemic to the marshes of the San Francisco live traps, offered most often, Bay-Estuary. The diet of this species has remove all bait, when averaged, the never been comprehensively examined, but it and allow mice to mice spent the most was believed to be limited primarily to fast 2 hours time eating non- pickleweed. This diet study was designed to native plant species. determine what plants, other than pickleweed, the SMHM prefers to eat when offered. Percent of Time Spent Eang When Offered 35 Place mice in 30 25 feeding arena 20 provisioned with 15 10 food for 2 hours Percent of Time 5 0 18 16 Record Typha Rabbit’s Foot Grass 14 Typha Species - Ty Polypogon monspeliensis - POMO proportion of 12 time spent 10 8 feeding on each 6 Percent of Time 4 Pickleweed Fat Hen 2 Sarcocornia pacifica - SAPA Atriplex prostrata - ATPR food item. 0 Invasive Non-Nave Naturalized Nave Common Reed Pepperweed Phragmites australis - PHAU Lepidium lafolium - LELA Conclusion Nave Vegetaon Species Non-Nave Vegetaon Species While our results pertain only to SMHM diet Naturalized Vegetaon Species Invasive Vegetaon Species preference, they indicate that the diet of SMHM is much more flexible than previously Objecve believed. This indicates that habitats other Assess diet preferences of SMHM for native than pickleweed dominated wetlands provide and non-native plants growing seasonally in food year round for the SMHM and may have tidal and managed wetlands in Suisun Marsh. high value in conservation of this species. 1. University of California at Davis, Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservaon Biology. 2. California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Region 3, Suisun Marsh Group. All work was performed under the Memorandum of Understanding between the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service and UC Davis ICUC # 17643. Poster adapted from: Smith, K.R., Riley, M.K., Barthman-Thompson, L., Estrella, S. (2014, August). Diet Preferences of the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse During a California Drought. Poster session presented at the 99th ESA Annual MeeBng, Sacramento, CA. .