6 REASONS WHY FERAL HOUSE MOUSE-POPULATIONS MIGHT HAVE LOW RECAPTURE RATES

Citation
Cj. Krebs et al., 6 REASONS WHY FERAL HOUSE MOUSE-POPULATIONS MIGHT HAVE LOW RECAPTURE RATES, Wildlife research, 21(5), 1994, pp. 559-567
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Zoology,Ecology
Journal title
ISSN journal
10353712
Volume
21
Issue
5
Year of publication
1994
Pages
559 - 567
Database
ISI
SICI code
1035-3712(1994)21:5<559:6RWFHM>2.0.ZU;2-L
Abstract
Many feral house mouse populations have low recapture rates (0-20%) in live-trapping studies carried out at 2-4-week intervals. We consider six hypotheses to explain low recapture rates. We radio-collared 155 h ouse mice between September 1992 and May 1993 in agricultural fields o n the Darling Downs of south-eastern Queensland during a phase of popu lation increase. Low recapture rates during the breeding season were d ue to low trappability and during the non-breeding period to nomadic m ovements. During the breeding season radio-collared mice of both sexes survived well and moved mostly small distances (<11 m). Low trappabil ity has consequences for the precision of population indices that rely on catch per unit effort. Capture-recapture models robust to heteroge neity of trap responses should be used to census feral Mus populations .