Save+the+Mice

=....................♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.SAVE THE MICE﻿.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!!.!.!.!.!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.................... = When it comes to rare and endangered species, charismatic megafauna – including the big and scary, or alternatively, cute and cuddly – get the most press, but thousands of less “exciting” plants and animals still vie for attention. So it is with the federally endangered Alabama Beach Mouse ( Peromyscus polionotus ammobates), a subspecies of “old field mouse” that lives in coastal sand dunes. I studied small mammals – as mice and rats are affectionately known to ecologists – for my Master’s and undergraduate research, so I’m partial to little furry rodents, but I can bet a pretty penny you most likely haven’t heard of this species unless you live in the state of Alabama. In all the world, this endangered critter lives only in the rolling white sand dunes on a sliver of habitat along Alabama’s coastline, incorporating the area known as the Alabama Gulf Shores. Who even knew Alabama had coastline, right? When Hurricane Ivan hit in 2004 followed by Hurricane Katrina in 2004, it was almost ‘curtains’ for the little mouse. Already suffering from habitat loss due to an explosion in coastal development in the late 1990s and the subsequent loss of dune habitat, and also because homeowners let their cats outdoors (and you know what cats do to mice), their population levels declined drastically. “Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina severely damaged between 90 and 95% of the mouse’s primary habitat, the frontal dune system, which consists of low sand dunes vegetated with sea oats, beach morning glory, railroad vine, woody goldenrod, false rosemary, bluestem and other grasses,” explains FWS biologist Carl Couret. A couple years back, I visited the [|Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge]along Alabama’s Fort Morgan peninsula and it was one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline I’ve seen! Unlike the nearby town of Orange Beach where condos and hotels line the coast and have eliminated natural dunes, on the nearly 4 miles of beach in the Bon Secour NWR, several layers of gorgeous rolling sand dunes remain, vegetated with inland sea oats, bluestem and other native (and sometimes non-native) plants. Although there are also condos in this Fort Morgan peninsula region – including “inholdings” within the refuge – many have elevated walkways that allow most of the dune’s natural habitat to remain little perturbed. A recent condo expansion was halted temporarily due to a Sierra Club lawsuit against the developer and FWS. Due to the lawsuit, the developers of Beach Club West decided to scrap their old plans and move their new condo buildings further inland to reduce impacts to the endangered mice. The permits for those newly proposed buildings still must be approved by FWS. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologists came up with ways to help restore the sand dunes destroyed by the hurricanes in order to help recover population numbers of the beleaguered mouse. Last December, FWS held a Dune Restoration Workshop where they taught local property owners how to restore dunes using drift fences, and encouraging them to plant native vegetation that the mice can feed on. The Alabama beach mouse population has finally reached pre-hurricane distributions - in other words biologists have trapped the endangered mice in the same areas they lived before the hurricane. But it still has a ways to go to a full recovery of the species. “Population numbers were very depressed across its range following the 2004-5 hurricanes,” says Couret. “These conditions continued until late 2008 when populations increased and reoccupied pre-hurricane habitats.” And in a pro-active effort to help recover the species, the FWS is currently in planning mode to reintroduce the mouse to its historic haunts in Gulf State Park next year - a 6,150 acre park that includes two and a half miles of coastline in the city of Gulf Shores, east of the Fort Morgan peninsula.

Light from oceanfront hotels and houses is making life tougher for the endangered beach mouse, according to a University of Florida study.

**See Also:** [|**Plants & Animals**] [|**Reference**]
 * [|Mice]
 * [|Rodents]
 * [|Endangered Animals]
 * [|Genetically Modified]
 * [|Animals]
 * [|Mammals]
 * [|Sea turtle]
 * [|Mouse]
 * [|Ecological succession]
 * [|House mouse]

“We already know that light pollution can have an adverse impact on sea turtles and coastal birds,” said Lyn Branch, a professor of conservation biology at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “Now we’re finding that it can also have an effect on coastal mammals.” Branch and her fellow researchers found that artificial lighting interferes with the foraging behavior of the Santa Rosa beach mouse, one of seven mouse subspecies that live in dunes along the Florida and Alabama coasts. The results of their study appeared in the October issue of the journal Conservation Biology. Closely related to the common field mouse, the various subspecies of beach mouse sport light-colored coats that help them blend in with sand, live in burrows in the dunes, and come out at night to feed on sea oat seeds and insects. In recent decades, the mice have been threatened by both development and the forces of nature. The mice typically are found in primary dunes -- the high-standing dunes closest to the water’s edge -- and in shrub-covered “scrub dunes” found on the bay side of many barrier islands. Primary dunes often are destroyed when hurricanes make landfall, while many scrub dune areas have been destroyed by development. One beach mouse subspecies, the Pallid beach mouse, already has become extinct. Of the remaining seven, only the Santa Rosa beach mouse -- found on Eglin Air Force Base and Gulf Island National Seashore -- is not listed as endangered or threatened. Because of its similarity to other subspecies, and because of the difficulties of conducting research with protected species, researchers often use the Santa Rosa beach mouse as a stand-in for its endangered cousins. Like other nocturnal mammals, the Santa Rosa mouse doesn’t spend much time foraging when the moon is full. “Increased lighting makes the mice more visible, and that can only increase their vulnerability to predators,” said Brittany Bird, the former UF graduate student who set up the study. “Beach mice are particularly vulnerable to predation by domestic cats, because they evolved in a cat-free environment and haven’t evolved ways to recognize and avoid them.” The UF researchers wanted to find out if artificial lighting might have the same effect. They put up two sets of artificial lights -- 18-watt low-pressure sodium lights and 40-watt incandescent bug lights -- at four locations on an undeveloped area of Santa Rosa Island managed by Eglin Air Force Base. They set up trays filled with food at locations around each set of lights, and placed similar arrays along darkened stretches of beach. After observing each site during a new moon, the researchers found that mice were less likely to eat from trays in lighted areas, indicating that light may discourage foraging. The effect was strongest near the bug light, where mice ate one-third as much as they ate in darkened areas, but the researchers also saw a decrease in foraging near the sodium bulb. The researchers say the study may underestimate the effect light has on mice in developed areas. They note that the lights in the study were placed near the ground, on otherwise darkened stretches of beach, with lots of vegetation where mice can hide. Many beachfront buildings have multiple outside lights, and vegetation is typically sparse on dunes in developed areas. “There’s more than just one house on the beach, and there’s usually more than one light per house,” Branch said. “And there are large portions of beach that are lit by taller, brighter lights than the ones used in the study.” Reduced foraging could hamper the recovery of the endangered mice, the researchers say. “If they have fewer resources, that could reduce their reproductive rate, which would make it tougher for endangered subspecies to increase their numbers,” said Debbie Miller, a UF associate professor of ecology and wildlife conservation and co-author of the study. Even the glare from off-beach sources can be bright enough to cause problems for wildlife, said Lorna Patrick, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Panama City field office, which partially funded the study. “The urban glow from areas far behind the dunes can cast a lot of light on the beach,” Patrick said. “We’ve seen light ordinances put in place in quite a few coastal communities in recent years, but with continuous coastal development, the amount of light in these areas is still growing.” Patrick said coastal residents concerned about threats to beach mice should try to limit the amount of light they allow to escape their property. “People often want bright lights because they believe they will make them safer in the urban environments,” she said. “For a long time, the philosophy was ‘the brighter, the better.’ But putting the right light in the right place can work just as well.” //**Disclaimer**: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.// //Email or share this story://  | More

> The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by Science//Daily// staff) from materials provided by **University Of Florida**.
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Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats: APA

MLA University Of Florida (2004, November 30). Lights From Beachfront Development Harm Endangered Beach Mice. //ScienceDaily//. Retrieved December 7, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2004/11/041129101438.htm

//Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.// //A Santa Rosa beach mouse peers out of his hole on an oceanfront dune in this November 2000 photograph taken by University of Florida graduate student Brittany Bird. A study by Bird and other researchers at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences suggests that bright lights from oceanfront development are harmful to threatened and endangered subspecies of beach mouse. (Photo by Brittany Bird/University of Florida/IFAS)// Ads by Google

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Land: Rodent's historic stamping grounds is worth $30 million. Building industry sought 'more logical' option of moving population.
[|April 07, 2002] | SEEMA MEHTA | TIMES STAFF WRITER The last time federal wildlife biologists tried to gauge the Pacific pocket mouse population at the Dana Point Headlands, they counted only six of the endangered rodents. However, more than 24 acres of ocean-view real estate--worth $30 million--is being set aside for their protection. The mouse preserve is an important issue in a developer's attempt to create 125 lots for custom ocean-view homes, a 65-room seaside inn and commercial development on the 121-acre property. Property rights advocates question preserving so much valuable land for so few animals. [|Ads by Google] "That doesn't make much sense," said Laer Pearce, spokesman for the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California. "Doesn't it seem like moving them is a much more logical option than preserving that much land for them?" The construction project has received local approval, as well as permits from state and federal wildlife officials. However, Headlands Reserve LLC still must pass muster with the California Coastal Commission, a powerful state agency that has stalled and modified many projects along Orange County's coast. ''This mouse basically is going to be living on a nicer lot than me," said developer Sanford Edward, who plans to build a home for himself on the Headlands. Still, Edward says he's willing to sacrifice the land to get quick approval for his project. "Even though we're doing it for the habitat and the mouse, we recognize that the headlands portion of the property has become a landmark in and of itself," he said. "So we've been willing to consider relinquishing our development rights ... in hopes that we will be able to move forward in a timely fashion." Little is known about the Pacific pocket mouse, a small, silky mammal with fur-lined cheek pouches that was listed as endangered in 1994. Its historic range--sandy land no more than two miles from the coast--stretched from Marina del Rey to the Tijuana Estuary, but the burrowing mouse is now known to exist in only three places. In addition to the six mice counted on the Headlands, they are found at two spots on Camp Pendleton--about 50 mice live along the San Mateo Creek, and up to 1,000 mice dwell north of the Santa Margarita River. Environmentalists argue that for the species to recover, it's necessary to save as much of their habitat as possible. [|Ads by Google]
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