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Vol. 45 No. 4, 2006
Population Ecology of the Southeast Asian House Mouse (Muridae: Mus musculus castaneus) Inhabiting Rice Granaries in Taiwan
Shu-Yu Wu1,3, Yu-Teh K. Lin2,3, and Hon-Tsen Yu1,3,*
1Institute of Zoology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 106
2Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 106
3Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 106
Shu-Yu Wu, Yu-Teh K. Lin, and Hon-Tsen Yu (2006) We studied the population ecology of a house mouse subspecies, Mus musculus castaneus,
in northeastern Taiwan. Populations living in rice granaries offer a
unique opportunity to understand the house mice in a commensal habitat.
Environments in rice granaries fluctuate both spatially and temporally
in terms of food and habitat availability, and mortality risk, due to
the pulsed removal of rice sacks and the practice of poisoning. The
results indicated that the pulsed removal of rice sacks in individual
rooms did not noticeably reduce the size of the house mouse population
in granary 1, whereas the total removal of rice sacks from granary 2
severely altered the habitat and precipitated a sharp decline in the
mouse population size. In contrast, poisoning considerably altered
population structures. The age structure changed from ones with a high
proportion of young animals to a clearly inverted triangular structure,
indicating a strong effect of poisoning on recruitment of the young.
However, poisoning did not change the sex ratio, nor disrupt breeding
activities of breeders. Continuous breeding activities throughout the
year and rapid reproductive rates apparently have allowed M. m. castaneus
to successfully persist in rice granaries. We also discuss the body
growth patterns and spatial distribution patterns of the house mouse in
granaries.
Key words: Mus musculus castaneus, Commensal habitats, Rice granary, Population structure, Poisoning.
*Correspondence: Tel: 886-2-33662456. Fax: 886-2-23638179. E-mail:ayu@ntu.edu.tw
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