Diets and feeding of Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis during the breeding season:a comparison between St Kilda and Shetland colonies

Diets and nest attendance of Fulmars at Foula, Shetland and St Kilda, Outer Hebrides were examined during the breeding season. At Foula, sandeels formed the bulk of the diet, with fish offal and pelagic zooplankton of minor importance. At St Kilda, 71% of regurgitates consisted of pelagic zooplankton, probably captured at night. Dietary overlap between the two colonies was 14% by species composition. Foraging trips from Foula shortly after chick hatching generally lasted for less than 10 h, while trips from St Kilda late in chick rearing often lasted more than 24 h. The diurnal pattern of feeding suggested mainly nocturnal foraging from St Kilda but both diurnal and nocturnal foraging from Foula.     

Can predation by invasive mice drive seabird extinctions?

The house mouse, Mus musculus, is one of the most widespread and well-studied invasive mammals on islands. It was thought to pose little risk to seabirds, but video evidence from Gough Island, South Atlantic Ocean shows house mice killing chicks of two IUCN-listed seabird species. Mouse-induced mortality in 2004 was a significant cause of extremely poor breeding success for Tristan albatrosses, Diomedea dabbenena (0.27 fledglings/pair), and Atlantic petrels, Pterodroma incerta (0.33). Population models show that these levels of predation are sufficient to cause population decreases. Unlike many other islands, mice are the only introduced mammals on Gough Island. However, restoration programmes to eradicate rats and other introduced mammals from islands are increasing the number of islands where mice are the sole alien mammals. If these mouse populations are released from the ecological effects of predators and competitors, they too may become predatory on seabird chicks.     

Ectoparasites on small mammals in Iceland: Origin and population characteristics of a species-poor insular community

The Icelandic small mammal fauna is depauperated as is the associated ectoparasite fauna. Three small mammal species occur, viz. Apodemus sylvaticus L., Mus musculus L., and Rattus norvegicus Berk. ( R. rattus is probably not a regular member). The mice supposedly came to the island by settlers from the 10th century and onwards.
Apodemus and Mus from five localities altogether had seven ectoparasite species, five mites and two fleas. All species occurred on Apodemus whereas Mus was infested by four. Compared with the numbers of ectoparasite species recorded in similar studies in the Nordic countries, there are conspicuously few species in Iceland. Further, Apodemus had an overall higher infestation frequency than Mus (90% and 30%, respectively) and a higher total density of ectoparasites (3.3–20.3 and 0.5 inds/host, respectively). The density figures were high compared with those for mainland Apodemus . Especially the mite Laelaps agilis C. L. Koch and the flea Ctenophthalmus agyrtes (Heller) were common on Icelandic Apodemus . Reduced competition among parasites and/or low predator pressure on small mammals may explain the density figures obtained.
The ectoparasite species compositions on small mammals in Scandinavia and Iceland have many features in common that renders it probable that Apodemus originate from Scandinavia.     

Town Mouse, Country Mouse: adaptation and adaptability in Mus domesticus (M. musculus domesticus)

The generally accepted idea that the house mouse is a single, world-wide species which owes its success largely to commensalism with man is wrong. There are at least five European and two Asian species lumped together under the name Mus musculus, plus another fourteen Asian species in the same genus. The house mouse of western Europe is the one that has been introduced to the Americas and Australasia, as well as being domesticated in the laboratory and ‘fancy’ strains; it is properly described as Mus domesticus. A complication of this particular species is the existence of chromosomal races involving the fusion of pairs of chromosomes, apparently at random. These races seem to be reproductively isolated from normal (2n = 40) mice. They have been described in southern Europe and northern Britain. Genetical studies of wild-living mice have shown the operation of powerful natural selection, contrary to earlier assumptions that most of the polymorphic variation in the species (especially that revealed by electrophoresis) was neutral. The effects of such selection are reduced (but not eliminated) by the deme structure of established mouse populations; this social structure is much less rigid than some laboratory experiments have suggested, because of opportunism by individual mice in replacing dead or debilitated animals, and filling new niches as these become available. Virtually every mouse population is unique, since a population tends to be founded by a small group of animals drawn from a genetically variable ancestral population. This differentiation has allowed laboratory workers to develop inbred strains with characteristic properties; it has also resulted in over 130 sub-species being described from wild caught animals. A substantial proportion of these latter have probably arisen by instant sub-speciation through the founder effect. This is well illustrated by the mice of the Faroe islands, which are often quoted as standard examples of extremely rapid evolution. The adaptive properties of the house mouse that have made it such an effective pest and such a good laboratory animal have enabled it to colonize habitats as different as Antarctic tundra and tropical atolls. The species is an ideal one for the general biological task of dissecting the traits that contribute to this adaptability; the material is largely available for this task in the diversity of local forms established in different habitats and characterized genetical varieties maintained in the laboratory. More is known about M. domesticus than any other mammal, except possibly man; the time is ripe for fusing laboratory work on reproduction, mortality, and behaviour with the information increasingly coming from field studies of wild-living animals.     

Absence of spermatozoal CD46 protein expression and associated rapid acrosome reaction rate in striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius)

Background  

In rodents, the cell surface complement regulatory protein CD46 is expressed solely on the spermatozoal acrosome membrane. Ablation of the CD46 gene is associated with a faster acrosome reaction. Sperm from Apodemus flavicollis (yellow-necked field mice), A. microps (pygmy field mice) and A. sylvaticus (European wood mice) fail to express CD46 protein and exhibit a more rapid acrosome reaction rate than Mus (house mice) or BALB/c mice. A. agrarius (striped field mice) belong to a different Apodemus subgenus and have pronounced promiscuity and large relative testis size. The aim of this study was to determine whether A. agrarius sperm fail to express CD46 protein and, if so, whether A. agrarius have a faster acrosome reaction than Mus.     

House mice and wood mice in and around an agricultural building

Wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus and house mice Mus domesticus are two of the commonest and most intensively studied British mammals. However, relative to the vast literature on non-commensal and laboratory house mice (Berry, 1981, 1991), and woodland wood mice (Flowerdew, Gurnell & Gipps, 1985; Flowerdew, 1991) little is known of the ecology of either species in and around farm buildings. Farm buildings and their surroundings are particularly important for house mice, which are a major stored-product pest (Meehan, 1984). In Britain they live largely indoors but also make limited use of hedges and fields in the summer (Rowe & Swinney, 1977; Montgomery & Dowie, 1993). Wood mice are very abundant on agricultural land, and occasionally use buildings (Green, 1979; Montgomery & Dowie, 1993; Tew & Macdonald, 1993).     

Of mice and the ‘Age of Discovery’: the complex history of colonization of the Azorean archipelago by the house mouse (Mus musculus) as revealed by mitochondrial DNA variation

Humans have introduced many species onto remote oceanic islands. The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a human commensal and has consequently been transported to oceanic islands around the globe as an accidental stowaway. The history of these introductions can tell us not only about the mice themselves but also about the people that transported them. Following a phylogeographic approach, we used mitochondrial D‐loop sequence variation (within an 849‐ to 864‐bp fragment) to study house mouse colonization of the Azores. A total of 239 sequences were obtained from all nine islands, and interpretation was helped by previously published Iberian sequences and 66 newly generated Spanish sequences. A Bayesian analysis revealed presence in the Azores of most of the D‐loop clades previously described in the domesticus subspecies of the house mouse, suggesting a complex colonization history of the archipelago as a whole from multiple geographical origins, but much less heterogeneity (often single colonization?) within islands. The expected historical link with mainland Portugal was reflected in the pattern of D‐loop variation of some of the islands but not all. A more unexpected association with a distant North European source area was also detected in three islands, possibly reflecting human contact with the Azores prior to the 15th century discovery by Portuguese mariners. Widening the scope to colonization of the Macaronesian islands as a whole, human linkages between the Azores, Madeira, the Canaries, Portugal and Spain were revealed through the sharing of mouse sequences between these areas. From these and other data, we suggest mouse studies may help resolve historical uncertainties relating to the ‘Age of Discovery’.     

Pathogens of house mice on arid Boullanger Island and subantarctic Macquarie Island, Australia

Studies on island populations of house mice (Mus domesticus) and their viruses reveal insights into viral persistence in isolated communities. We surveyed the ectoparasites, endoparasites, and antiviral antibodies for 11 murine viruses and two bacteria of house mice inhabiting two islands off Australia. House mice on Boullanger Island were seropositive to two viruses, murine cytomegalovirus and epizootic diarrhea of infant mice. On subantarctic Macquarie Island, house mice were seropositive for five viruses: murine cytomegalovirus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, mouse parvovirus, epizootic diarrhea of infant mice, and Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus. The diversity of antiviral antibodies was lower among populations of house mice on islands than those inhabiting mainland Australia. The decreased diversity of viruses in island populations of house mice may be a function of which agent the founder mice transfer to the island and related to the low densities which the host population may periodically reach over time.     

The relationships and ecology of Apodemus sylvaticus from the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, Scotland

Island "races" of the field mouse ( Apodemus sylvaticus ) have often been used to support particular theories of colonization or microevolution. Comparisons between Apodemus from a group of four islands in the Inner Hebrides (Rhum, Muck, Eigg and Canna) give support to the idea that the amimals were introduced onto these islands by man—mice first becoming established on Eigg and thence being transported to the other islands.     

动物生态学在大兴安岭流行性出血热宿主动物研究中的重要作用

在流行病的三大流行环节中,病原的宿主与疾病的传播媒介常是动物。动物学研究,尤其是动物生态学研究,常能在病原体尚未分离出来的情况下,判别出自然疫源性疾病的宿主动物,找出最主要的传播途径,从而有效地防治     

Different patterns of retinal cone topography in two genera of rodents,Mus and Apodemus

Recently, we have reported the peculiar topographic separation of shortwave- and middlewave-sensitive (S and M) cones in the retina of the common house mouse (Mus musculus) and in a number of inbred laboratory mouse strains derived from the same species. In an attempt to follow the phylogeny of the complementary cone fields, we have investigated the retina of other mouse-like rodents. Two monoclonal anti-visual pigment antibodies, OS-2 and COS-1, specific to the S and M cones, respectively, have been used to identify the two cone types. Immunocytochemistry on retinal sections and on whole-mount preparations have shown that, as in the house mouse, the two cone types in the mound builder mouse (Mus spicileugus) occupy opposite halves of the retina. In contrast, in the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), both cone types are scattered uniformly across the whole retinal surface. Another distinguishing feature between the two genera is the frequency of the S cones. Whereas their density in the Mus species is above 7 000/mm² in the S-field, the maximum density of the S cones in A. sylvaticus is one order of magnitude smaller. In another species of this genus (the herb field mouse, A. microps), the S cones are completely missing.     

Colonization pathways of the northeast Atlantic by northern fulmars: a test of James Fisher’s ‘out of Iceland’ hypothesis using museum collections

When the northern fulmar expanded its northeast Atlantic breeding range from the two known colonies, Grimsey in northern Iceland and St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, about 350 yr ago, the geographical pattern of colonisation – initially the Faroes, then Scotland, followed by Ireland and southern Britain – led James Fisher to propose a sole Icelandic source for the colonists. However, previously‐analysed mitochondrial DNA from contemporary samples indicated a St Kildan origin for at least some colonists. If Fisher's hypothesis is correct and Iceland and not St Kilda was the source population for all of the new colonies, the Icelandic signal should be stronger in museum samples collected 100 yr ago when St Kilda was populated by people who harvested large numbers of fulmars. Patterns of genetic, specifically, nucleotide, diversity suggest an Icelandic origin for the pre‐1940 samples. St Kilda birds contained a number of closely related haplotypes whereas Grimsey, Iceland, the other putative source population, contained diverse haplotypes. These two patterns are indicative of a younger and older population, respectively. When both nuclear aldolase and mitochondrial control region sequence data from historical samples collected on the newly colonized islands were examined, they contained highly divergent haplotypes characteristic of Grimsey, not St Kilda. Comparison of mitochondrial data from samples collected in the early and late 20th century showed an interesting pattern of haplotype turnover on St Kilda. Prior to 1940 the haplotypes present on St Kilda were genetically similar to one another, yet haplotype sampling in the 1990s showed highly divergent haplotypes on the island. We propose that these new haplotypes are not the result of mutation, but immigration from other colonies in the North Atlantic.     

Rats are not the only introduced rodents producing ecosystem impacts on islands

In addition to rats, nutria (Myocastor coypus) and the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) have certainly caused damage at an ecosystem level when introduced to islands, in both cases primarily by ecosystem engineering. Of other introduced rodents successfully established on islands, the gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) may be in the process of damaging entire forest ecosystems, particularly by bark-stripping. Though introduced muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) have had ecosystem-level impacts in continental Europe, their impact on islands worldwide to which they have been introduced has been very limited. The North American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and Barbary ground squirrel (Atlantoxerus getulus) have each had substantial impacts when introduced to particular islands, but for neither species have these impacts yet been demonstrated to spread through an entire ecosystem. Introduced house mice (Mus musculus) may well generate ecosystem impacts on remote islands lacking rats, and it is possible that explosions of house mice on islands after rat eradication, a common occurrence, will lead in some instances to ecosystem impacts.     

Introduced house mice as a conservation concern on Gough Island

House mice have previously been identified as a significant threat to both species and ecosystems on Southern Ocean islands. To date, these impacts have been quantified on several sub-Antarctic islands, but the role of house mice on more temperate islands is poorly known. On South Atlantic Gough Island, non-commensal house mice (Mus musculus L.) were probably introduced in the early 19th century and are now extremely abundant. To assess the likely impacts of mice on the fauna and flora at Gough Island we examined the diet of this population from September 1999 to July 2000 using conventional snap trapping techniques. The population has a single breeding season from September to March and mean body mass is notable in being amongst the largest reported for non-laboratory M. musculus. At low elevations (<250 m above sea level [a.s.l.]), avian carrion was the most prevalent dietary item during September and October. From November to February, plant material constituted the bulk of stomach contents and from March to July lumbricid worms were the most common food item. Indigenous invertebrate matter contributed little to mouse diet, independent of season. At altitudes greater than 500 m a.s.l., larvae of endemic brachypterous moths made up a significant proportion of stomach contents. In light of studies elsewhere, these data suggest that mouse predation may pose a significant threat to these species. However, it is not clear whether conservation action, such as an eradication attempt, is warranted. Further assessments of the impacts of mice are required, and in the interim every effort should be made to prevent introductions of other potentially harmful invasive species.     

Chance and change in British Long-tailed field mice: (Apodemus sylvaticus)

The Long-tailed field mouse ( Apodemus sylvaticus (L.)) has undergone a marked degree of racial differentiation on the islands of the north-west Atlantic (Iceland, Shetland, and the Hebrides). The differences have arisen as a result of the colonization of these islands after the Pleistocene by small numbers of animals carrying alleles in different proportions to those in the parental population. In contrast, the populations on some islands to the south of Britain (Jersey and Guernsey in the Channel Isles, and St. Mary's in the Isles of Scilly) are similar to A. sylvaticus from the mainland of Britain, and are likely to represent the descendants of mice which survived the Ice Ages ( A. sylvaticus populations on the smaller islands–Alderney, Sark, Herm and Tresco–differ markedly from their closest relatives, and probably represent the results of recolonization following extinction in the same way as on the glaciated islands to the north).
On the mainland of Britain there is a fairly clear distinction between two groups: western and central populations, and eastern ones (which have closer affinities to French mice than western British ones). It is suggested that the two mainland British "races" may have diverged in Pleistocene refuges. Since no pelage or size genes are involved in the divergence, it would not be expected that they would be taxonomically distinct.
The data on which these conclusions are based derive from the incidence of 20 nonmetrical variants in the skulls of 1096 mice from 22 series.     

Winter ecology of house mice and the prospects for their eradication from Steeple Jason (Falkland Islands)

Invasive house mice Mus musculus are known to impact on seabird, invertebrate and plant communities on temperate and subantarctic islands, particularly where they are the sole rodent species. Steeple Jason, in the Falkland Islands, is an island which supports globally important seabird populations as well as introduced mice. To evaluate the prospects for mouse eradication, we investigated mouse ecology and undertook bait uptake trials on Steeple Jason in late winter. Mice were present in all habitats but were most abundant in tussac Poa flabellata where they occurred at 20–35 mice ha^?1. From 58 mature perforate females, 16 % were pregnant, with litters of 4–8 pups. The first lactating female was caught at the end of August, suggesting that breeding had recently begun. Bait trials replicating an aerial eradication were undertaken on two trapping grids of 7.7 and 6.8 ha, with non-toxic pellets containing the biomarker pyranine spread at 7.5–7.7 kg ha^?1. All 447 mice captured after baiting had consumed bait. The relatively low winter density, distribution and biology of house mice on Steeple Jason are similar to those observed before other successful mice eradications, and the study indicated 100 % bait acceptance. Before an eradication attempt, we suggest investigating whether breeding ceases completely earlier in the winter and urge careful consideration of non-target species.     

Origin and Diffusion of the House Mouse in the Mediterranean

The house mouse (Mus musculus), after humans, is the most widespread mammal on earth and one of the worst invasive species for both biological diversity and human health. This ubiquity is the consequence of its strong ecological relationship with humans, namely commensalism. Human activities promote its diffusion by eliminating ecological barriers and by increasing the human environment suitable for this species. This paper deals with recent zooarchaeological data that has helped to decipher the main factors of human evolution involved in the origin of commensal behaviour in the house mouse and in its invasive process throughout the Mediterranean. Understanding this process contributes to our overall knowledge on how human activities modelled mammalian diversity during Holocene. In the Near Eastern core of European Neolithisation, two factors are recognised as the main driving forces to explain the beginning of house mouse commensalism: rise of farming practices (cultivated fields, large scale grain storage, domestication of plants) and human dispersal of domesticated plants through the cultural area of the pre-ceramic Neolithic. These factors increased the attractiveness of the anthropic ecosystem as well as the diffusion vectors of mice by passive transport. Nevertheless, the Neolithisation of the Mediterranean did not promote the house mouse’s invasion of Europe. The commercial and demographic expansions of Phoenicians and Greeks during the last millennium bc were the vectors that allowed the house mouse to overwhelm the ecological barriers that previously prevented its westward invasion of the human environment.     

Evolution of an invasive rodent on an archipelago as revealed by molar shape analysis: the house mouse in the Canary Islands

Aim The aim of this paper is to identify the patterns in the morphological differentiation in Canary Island mice, based on fossil and modern samples. In order to achieve this, the mouse species present on the archipelago were first compared with a set of continental mice. The differences between the continental and Canary Island samples, and among the Canary Island samples, provide insights into the processes of colonization and the subsequent insular evolution. Location Canary archipelago. Methods An outline analysis based on Fourier transformation was used to quantify shape differences between lower molars. Together with the fossil and modern Canary Island samples, a reference set of genotyped continental populations of the commensal Mus musculus and the wild Mus spretus was used for comparison. Results The morphometric analysis showed that all the mouse specimens from the Canary Islands and Cape Verde belonged to Mus musculus domesticus. Lower molars of extant mice from La Gomera, El Hierro, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and to a lesser degree from Lanzarote, were similar to those of genotyped M. m. domesticus from the continent, while teeth of extant mice from Fuerteventura were more divergent. Fossil mice from Fuerteventura were very similar to the extant representatives on this island, and similar to the fossil mice on the nearby islands of Lobos and La Graciosa. Main conclusions The mouse present on the Canary archipelago has been identified as the house mouse M. m. domesticus. Based on the shape of the lower molar, the Canary Island mice are divergent from the continental ones, but the degree of divergence varies with the geography of the archipelago. Overall, populations from eastern islands are more divergent from the continental mice than populations from western ones. Fossil populations indicate that this situation was established several centuries ago. Two main factors may have contributed to this pattern: the appearance of different types of environment on the islands since the successful settlement of the mouse, and/or the number of subsequent introductions of continental individuals via shipping.     

Islands as refugia of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trifolium repens</Emphasis> genetic diversity

Island populations are often thought to be more susceptible to the loss of genetic diversity as a consequence of limited population size and genetic drift, greater susceptibility to detrimental stochastic events and low levels of immigration. However the geographic isolation of islands may create refuges for native crop species whose genetic diversity is threatened from the genetic erosion occurring in mainland areas as a result of crop-wild gene flow and genetic swamping. Many UK islands remain uncharacterised in terms of plant genetic diversity. In this study we compared the genetic diversity of mainland populations and landraces of Trifolium repens with wild populations collected from the islands surrounding the UK, including the island of Hirta in the St Kildan archipelago. Individuals from St Kilda represent a unique conservation resource, with populations both highly differentiated from UK mainland populations and genetically distinct from cultivated varieties, whilst able to retain diversity through limited human influence on the islands. In contrast, there is relative genetic similarity of wild UK populations to cultivated forms highlighted in mainland populations, but with geographic barriers preventing complete homogenisation of the mainland UK genepool. We underline the need for conservation priorities to include common species that are threatened by gene flow from cultivation, and draw attention to the potential of islands to preserve natural levels of genetic diversity.