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

论文研究：出生栖息地类型对灌木鼠扩散和栖息地选择行为的影响PI：朱迪·斯塔姆斯和凯伦·E·马布里景观由多种不同的栖息地类型组成，虽然某些物种可能存在于多种栖息地类型中，但个别动物可能会选择迁徙或定居在特定的栖息地类型中。栖息地变化通常被认为会影响动物的活动和定居模式，但特定栖息地类型的经历对扩散和栖息地选择行为的潜在影响尚未被探索。在一种栖息地类型中出生和长大的动物是否倾向于在该栖息地类型中迁徙和/或定居(一种称为栖息地偏好诱导或HPI的现象)？这项拟议的研究的目的是确定栖息地类型的变化和出生的栖息地类型对刷鼠(Permyscus Ball Lii)离开母亲的栖息地，寻找并定居在新的栖息地的行为的影响。拟议的实地研究将使用包括活体诱捕和无线电跟踪在内的多种方法来观察自然分散的老鼠的运动和定居行为，并使用荧光粉跟踪实验中被转移到不同栖息地类型的老鼠的运动。无线电跟踪将用于评估动物对栖息地类型(大规模栖息地变化)的反应，荧光粉跟踪将用于确定动物对栖息地类型中的特征(如倒下的树木(小规模栖息地变化))的反应。这项研究对野生动物走廊设计、生态恢复以及生活在人类改变的栖息地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.