Effects of climate-induced forest disturbance on populations of the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus.

Abstract

As climate continues to shift across the globe, many forest ecosystems will succumb to the combined stress of temperature, precipitation, and biota shifts. In the spring of 2008, a group working at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) began an experiment to examine what may occur in the future. Housed near the UMBS AmeriFlux site, the Forest Accelerated Succession ExperimenT (FASET) artificially accelerated succession from an aspen-dominated hardwood forest to a conifer-deciduous mixed forest by girdling the overaged early-successional species, Populus spp. and Betula papyrifera. In order to understand the cascading trophic effects of FASET, we selected the Peromyscus leucopus, or white-footed mouse, as a preliminary study species. Population demographics are shifting within FASET, primarily when it relates to reproductive activity. Furthermore, early results indicate shifts in the importance of specific vegetation structure measures, specifically canopy openness and proximity of fine woody debris. As the manipulated forest continues to shift towards a deciduous-coniferous mixed forest, the subpopulation within FASET should continue adjusting to the new forest dynamic. It is my hope that trapping will continue in these areas to facilitate a deeper understanding of both P. leucopus behavioral and population changes in response to changing forests.