Topic
Desert mouse
About: Desert mouse is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8 publications have been published within this topic receiving 51 citations. The topic is also known as: Pseudomys desertor.
Papers
TL;DR: Evidence is provided that populations of both arid Australian rodents and some dasyurids are influenced by rainfall and some of the species showed spikes in abundance during 2001 and 2002, and then declined as rainfall diminished.
Abstract: This study examines the relative abundance of two species of sympatric rodent, the desert mouse (Pseudomys desertor) and the central rock-rat (Zyzomys pedunculatus), and a sympatric dasyurid (Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis) in relation to rainfall in the West Macdonnell Ranges National Park, Northern Territory, over a 6-year period. Seventeen trapping sessions were conducted between July 2000 and September 2006. All three species showed spikes in abundance during 2001 and 2002, which were very wet years, and then declined as rainfall diminished. Z. pedunculatus was not trapped at the sites beyond June 2002 while P. desertor was not trapped beyond September 2002. P. macdonnellensis was trapped in low numbers between September 2002 and February 2005 but was not trapped subsequently. Rainfall and the abundance of all three mammal species were clearly correlated. However, the patterns of abundance were subtly different. Z. pedunculatus exhibited three distinct peaks in abundance during the study (July 2000, April 2001 and March 2002), P. desertor exhibited two distinct peaks (July 2001 and June 2002) while. P. macdonnellensis exhibited only one peak in abundance (March 2002). The results of this study provide more evidence that populations of both arid Australian rodents and some dasyurids are influenced by rainfall. The study also provides some insights into the population ecology of the poorly known and threatened central rock-rat.
6 citations
1 Jan 1933
4 citations
TL;DR: D diets of feral cats, dingoes and red foxes in desert environments in north-eastern South Australia are studied by analysing prey remains in opportunistically-collected scats, adding valuable knowledge to the distribution of these mammals and demonstrating the value of predator scat analyses in mammal surveys of Australian deserts.
3 citations
TL;DR: The specimen had the distinctive buff-orange eye ring, size and general features of P. desertor and genomic DNA was extracted from the biopsy via a variation on the salting out procedure of Miller et al. (1988).
Abstract: THE desert mouse Pseudomys desertor is a medium sized rodent (15 – 30 g) which has a widespread distribution throughout the arid zone of Australia (Menkhorst and Knight 2001). It is considered locally abundant in habitats containing samphire, sedge, nitrebush or mature spinifex grasslands. A tolerance to disturbed habitat (from mining or grazing) has also been noted (Read et al. 1999). The distribution of the species once extended from the Murray-Darling through the Flinders Ranges to the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts, to the west coast and onto Bernier Island (Read et al. 1999; Menkhorst and Knight 2001). Since European colonisation there has been a contraction of the species’ range to the central deserts (Kerle 1995; Read et al. 1999). In Western Australia, the most southerly historical or contemporary record, is from the Wanjarri Nature Reserve (near Mount Keith), 370 km north of Kalgoorlie (D. Pearson pers. comm.; Western Australian Museum fauna database: http://203.30.234.168/). Recently, however, a suspected P. desertor was caught north-west of Queen Victoria Springs (QVS) in the Great Victoria Desert (GPS 30o 03’ 56’’S; 122o 55’ 28’’E), approximately 350 km to the south-east of its most southern known locality. The specimen had the distinctive buff-orange eye ring, size and general features of P. desertor described in Kerle (1995) and Menkhorst and Knight (2001). Prior to release of the specimen, an ear biopsy was obtained for DNA investigation and genomic DNA was extracted from the biopsy via a variation on the salting out procedure of Miller et al. (1988).
2 citations
TL;DR: A record of the desert mouse is presented north of Dalwallinu, Western Australia, which represents a significant range extension for the species of 324 km from the nearest confirmed record.
Abstract: The desert mouse (Pseudomys desertor) is one of the most common and widespread native rodent species across arid and semiarid Australia. The species occurs in a variety of habitats and like many arid-zone rodents, its distribution and abundance is known to fluctuate with environmental conditions. Following the capture of a suspected specimen of P. desertor outside the current known range of the species, we used molecular-based methods to confirm the specimen’s identification as P. desertor. This note presents a record of the species north of Dalwallinu, Western Australia, which represents a significant range extension for the species of 324 km from the nearest confirmed record.
2 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2013 | 1 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| 2002 | 1 |
| 1999 | 1 |