DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Influence of Natal Habitat Type on Dispersal and Habitat Selection Behavior of Brush Mice (Peromyscus boylii)

论文研究：出生栖息地类型对刷鼠（Peromyscus boylii）扩散和栖息地选择行为的影响PI: Judy Stamps and Karen E. mabry景观是由各种不同的栖息地类型组成的，虽然一些物种可能在其中一种以上的栖息地类型中发现，但个体动物可能会选择在特定的栖息地类型中移动或定居。栖息地变化通常被认为会影响动物的运动和定居模式，但特定栖息地类型的经验对扩散和栖息地选择行为的潜在影响尚未得到探索。在一种栖息地类型中出生和饲养的动物是否倾向于在该栖息地类型中移动和/或定居（一种被称为栖息地偏好诱导的现象，或HPI）？本研究的目的是确定栖息地类型变化和出生栖息地类型对刷鼠（Peromyscus boylii）离开其母亲的家园范围，寻找和定居新家园范围的行为的影响。野外研究将采用活体诱捕和无线电跟踪相结合的方法，观察自然分散的小鼠的运动和定居行为，并采用荧光粉跟踪方法跟踪实验转移到不同栖息地类型的小鼠的运动。无线电跟踪将用于评估动物对栖息地类型的反应（大规模栖息地变化），荧光粉末跟踪将用于确定动物如何对栖息地类型内的特征做出反应，例如被砍伐的树木（小规模栖息地变化）。该研究对野生动物走廊的设计、生态恢复以及在人类改变的栖息地中生活的动物种群的生存能力等保护问题具有重要意义。

Dissertation Research: Influence of natal habitat type on dispersal and habitat selection behavior of brush mice (Peromyscus boylii)PI: Judy Stamps and Karen E. MabryLandscapes are composed of a variety of different habitat types, and while some species may be found in more than one of these habitat types, individual animals may choose to move through or settle in a particular habitat type. Habitat variation is often assumed to affect the movement and settlement patterns of animals, but the potential influence of experience with a particular habitat type on dispersal and habitat selection behavior has been unexplored. Do animals born and reared in a habitat type tend to move through and/or settle in that habitat type (a phenomenon known as habitat preference induction, or HPI)? The goal of the proposed research is to determine the effects of habitat type variation and natal habitat type on the behavior of brush mice (Peromyscus boylii) as they leave their mother's home range, search for, and settle in a new home range. The proposed field study will use a combination of methods, including live-trapping and radio-tracking, to observe the movement and settlement behavior of naturally dispersing mice, and fluorescent powder tracking to follow the movements of mice that are experimentally translocated to different habitat types. Radio-tracking will be used to assess animals' responses to habitat types (large scale habitat variation), and fluorescent powder tracking will be used to determine how animals respond to features within a habitat type, such as downed trees (small scale habitat variation). This research has implications for conservation issues such as wildlife corridor design, ecological restoration, and the viability of animal populations living in human-altered habitats.