![]() ![]() The Pacific pocket mouse reaches sexual maturity in two to five months, though reproduction may not take place in years with below-average precipitation. Gestation takes 22 to 23 days young are weaned in 30 days. Females typically produce one or occasionally two litters per year, with two to eight young per litter. MIGRATION: The Pacific pocket mouse is nonmigratory.īREEDING: Breeding season generally peaks in spring but varies with temperatures, food supply, and plant growth. RANGE: The Pacific pocket mouse is endemic to coastal southwestern California the mouse formerly occurred at a minimum of eight locales encompassing 29 sites from Los Angeles County south to San Diego County. HABITAT: This mouse lives on fine-grain, sandy substrates and historically inhabited coastal dunes, river alluvium, and sage scrub habitats growing on marine terraces within approximately 2.4 miles of the ocean. The soles of the hind feet are hairy, giving the mouse one of its most distinguishing features. The ears are tipped with a patch of light hairs, and the tail is bi-colored. The coat is soft, bristle free, and light pinkish brown in color, with a lighter, sometimes white underside. longimembris are expected to be able to persist without ongoing management of competitor species.PACIFIC POCKET MOUSE } Perognathus longimembris pacificusĭESCRIPTION: The Pacific pocket mouse is a nocturnal granivore ranging in size from 4.3 to 5.2 inches from the nose to tip of the tail. However, during the later growth and regulation phases of a reintroduction, P. Collectively, this research suggests that during the initial phases of reintroduction when Pacific pocket mice are establishing their burrows and foraging areas, they will benefit from a reduction of heterospecific competitors, who may displace them from optimal sites. Species differed in the microhabitat they utilized, and although it is not clear if patterns of spatial niche partitioning are due to interspecific interactions or differences in habitat preferences, this study provided clear guidance for habitat management and release site selection for P. A year-long trapping study showed that species utilize spatial niche partitioning, but aggregate the timing of their activity, in areas with high levels of rodent activity. In a field experiment with dyed seeds I found that cache pilfering occurred infrequently, and a field-enclosure experiment revealed that none of the species use heterospecific scent to find (or avoid) seed caches. longimembris, if pocket mice pilfer from the other species' seed caches more frequently than the other species pilfer from their caches. However, the presence of other members of the seed-foraging guild could have a net benefit for P. ![]() ![]() As such, temporarily reducing the density of competing species might be an advisable reintroduction strategy, in combination with other interventions, such as predator exclusion. Repeated aggressive interactions from resident heterospecifics could lower the chances of reintroduced pocket mice establishing burrows during the critical settlement period. Body size asymmetries strongly predicted dominance, regardless of phylogenetic relatedness or residency status. longimembris and four sympatric species, and determined that pocket mice, the smallest species, are subordinate to all larger species. I conducted simulated territory intrusion experiments between P. The species in this foraging guild compete for seeds both exploitatively and through direct interference interactions. The endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus) is being reintroduced to parts of its former range where multiple species of native rodents have overlapping diets. Reintroduction programs for endangered species rarely take competitive interactions between species into account. ![]()
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