Document Type
Article
DOI
10.25778/KBFS-QP29
Abstract
We used monthly live trapping for 2.5 years to evaluate the life-history features of the most common small mammal, Sigmodon hispidus (hispid cotton rat), in an old field at its northern limit of distribution on the Atlantic Coast. Peak densities, achieved in late autumn or early winter, were among the highest recorded for the species and were more typical of geographically marginal populations rather than of central ones. Unlike some other marginal populations, hispid cotton rats in southeastern Virginia did not lose significant body mass over the winter (when few juveniles were present) and survival in winter was not significantly different from that of other seasons, perhaps due to the moderating effects on winter temperatures of the nearby Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. Our study provides support for the presence of spring and autumn cohorts, with long-lived animals being drawn almost entirely from the latter.
Recommended Citation
Rose, R. K. and H. G. Salamone. 2017. Population Dynamics of the Cotton Rat in Southeastern Virginia. Virginia Journal of Science, 68(1/2): 1-15. doi: 10.25778/KBFS-QP29. Available at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/vjs/vol68/iss1/1
"online ahead of print" version
Comments
This article has been copyedited and reformatted and is now in its final version. The early “online ahead of print” version is available for reference as an "Additional File" (below).