Register      Login
Wildlife Research Wildlife Research Society
Ecology, management and conservation in natural and modified habitats
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > WR > WR09118
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 37(2)

Primary and secondary resource pulses in an alpine ecosystem: snow tussock grass (Chionochloa spp.) flowering and house mouse (Mus musculus) populations in New Zealand

Deborah J. Wilson A B and William G. Lee A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Landcare Research, Private Bag 1930, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.

B Corresponding author. Email: wilsond@landcareresearch.co.nz

Wildlife Research 37(2) 89-103 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR09118
Submitted: 9 September 2009  Accepted: 13 January 2010   Published: 16 April 2010

Abstract

Context. Rodent populations in many parts of the world fluctuate in response to resource pulses generated by periodic high seed production (masting) by forest trees, with cascading effects on predation risk to other forest species. In New Zealand forests, populations of exotic house mice (Mus musculus) irrupt after periodic heavy beech (Nothofagus spp.) seedfall. However, in alpine grasslands, where snow tussock grasses (Chionochloa spp.) also flower and set seeds periodically, little is known about house mouse population dynamics.

Aims. Our primary objective was to test for an increase in alpine mouse density following a summer when snow tussocks flowered profusely. We also estimated mouse density in adjacent montane forest over 2 years, and assessed mouse diet, to predict their potential impacts on native species.

Methods. Flowering intensity of Chionochloa was assessed by counting flowering tillers on permanent transects (2003–06). Mouse density was estimated with capture–mark–recapture trapping in alpine (2003–07) and forest (2003–04) habitats. Mice were also collected and their stomach contents analysed. Flowering or fruiting of alpine shrubs and herbs, and beech seedfall at forest sites, were also measured.

Key results. Chionochloa flowered profusely in austral summer 2005/06. Between autumn (May) and spring (November) 2006, mean alpine mouse density increased from 4 ha–1 to 39 ha–1, then declined to 8 ha–1 by autumn (May 2007). No mice were captured in 768 trap-nights during the following spring (November 2007). Prior to the mouse irruption, mouse density was consistently higher at alpine (0.4–4.0 mice ha–1) than at montane forest (0.02–1.8 mice ha–1) sites (in 2003–04). Alpine mouse diet was dominated by arthropods before mast flowering, and by seeds during it.

Conclusions. The density and dynamics of alpine mice in relation to intensive snow-tussock flowering were similar to those in New Zealand beech forest in relation to beech masts.

Implications. We predict the timing and duration of periods of heightened predation risk to native alpine fauna, as the result of pulses in mouse density and likely associated pulses in the density of stoats (Mustela erminea), a key exotic predator.


Acknowledgements

We thank Gary McElrea, Lisa McElrea, Peter Lei, Rachel Peach and Mike Perry for organising field trips, and many Landcare Research staff and students for fieldwork and laboratory work. Murray Efford, Mike Fitzgerald, Chris Gillies, Kelvin Lloyd, Elaine Murphy and Clare Veltman gave scientific advice. Corinne Watts, John Dugdale, Leonie Clunie and Robert Hoare assisted with invertebrate identification. Southland Conservancy, DOC, supplied research permits, and the Borland Lodge provided accommodation and other assistance. Craig Briggs prepared the base map for Fig. 1. Christine Bezar, Dave Kelly, C. M. (Kim) King, Adrian Monks and Des Smith gave very valuable comments on earlier versions of this paper. The research was done with the approval of the Landcare Research Animal Ethics Committee (AEC 03/01/01 and 04/12/03) and was funded by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, the Miss E. L. Hellaby Indigenous Grasslands Research Trust, and the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.


References

Akaike, H. (1974). A new look at the statistical model identification. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control 19, 716–723.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Burnham K. P. , and Anderson D. R. (2002). ‘Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: a Practical Information Theoretic Approach.’ 2nd edn. (Springer-Verlag: New York.)

Chown, S. L. , and Smith, V. R. (1993). Climate change and the short-term impact of feral house mice at the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands. Oecologia 96, 508–516.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Crafford J. E. (1990). The role of feral house mice in ecosystem functioning on Marion Island. In ‘Antarctic Ecosystems: Ecological Change and Conservation’. (Eds K. R. Kerry and G. Hempel.) pp. 359–364. (Springer: Berlin.)

Cunningham D. H. , and Moors P. J. (1996). ‘Guide to the Identification and Collection of New Zealand Rodents.’ 3rd edn. (Department of Conservation: Wellington, New Zealand.)

Dugdale, J. S. (1996). Natural history and identification of litter-feeding Lepidoptera larvae (Insecta) in beech forests, Orongorongo valley, New Zealand, with especial reference to the diet of mice (Mus musculus). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 26, 251–274.
Efford M. G. (2010). Density 4.4: Software for spatially explicit capture-recapture. Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Available at http://www.otago.ac.nz/density [verified March 2010].

Efford, M. G. , Dawson, D. K. , and Robbins, C. S. (2004). Density: software for analysing capture-recapture data from passive capture–mark– recapture arrays. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 27, 217–228.
Efford M. G. , Borchers D. L. , and Byrom A. E. (2009). Density estimation by spatially explicit capture–recapture: likelihood-based methods. In ‘Modeling Demographic Processes in Marked Populations’. (Eds D. L. Thomson, E. G. Cooch and M. J. Conroy.) pp. 255–269. (Springer: New York.)

Elliott G. , and Kemp J. (2004). Effect of hunting and predation on kea, and a method of monitoring kea populations: results of kea research on the St Arnaud Range. DOC Science Internal Series 181. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. Available at http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/dsis181.pdf [verified March 2010].

Elliott, G. P. , Dilks, P. J. , and O’Donnell, C. F. J. (1996). The ecology of yellow-crowned parakeets (Cyanoramphus auriceps) in Nothofagus forest in Fiordland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 23, 249–265.
Flack J. A. D. , and Lloyd B. D. (1978). The effect of rodents on the breeding success of the South Island robin. In ‘The Ecology and Control of Rodents in New Zealand Nature Reserves’. (Eds P. R. Dingwall, I. A. E. Atkinson and C. Hay.) pp. 59–66. (New Zealand Department of Lands and Survey: Wellington, New Zealand.)

Fox J. (2002). ‘An R and S-Plus Companion to Applied Regression.’ (Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA.)

Hansson, L. (1970). Methods of morphological diet micro-analysis in rodents. Oikos 21, 255–266.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Heath S. M. (1989). The breeding biology of the rock wren, Xenicus gilviventris, in the Murchison Mountains, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Hitchmough R. , Bull L. , and Cromarty P. (Compilers) (2007). ‘New Zealand Threat Classification System Lists – 2005. Stand-alone Publication 236.’ (Department of Conservation: Wellington, New Zealand.)

Hurvich, C. M. , and Tsai, C. (1989). Regression and time series model selection in small samples. Biometrika 76, 297–307.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Jędrzejewska B. , and Jędrzejewski W. (1998). ‘Predation in Vertebrate Communities: the Białowieża Primeval Forest as a Case Study.’ Ecological Studies 35. (Springer-Verlag: New York.)

Jędrzejewski, W. , Jędrzejewska, B. , Zub, Z. , Ruprecht, A. L. , and Bystrowski, C. (1994). Resource use by tawny owls Strix aluco in relation to rodent fluctuations in Białowieża National Park, Poland. Journal of Avian Biology 25, 308–318.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Johns P. M. (2001). Distribution and conservation status of ground weta, Hemiandrus species (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae). Science for Conservation 180. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. Available at http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/Sfc180.pdf [verified March 2010].

Jones, C. G. , Ostfeld, R. S. , Richard, M. P. , Schauber, E. M. , and Wolff, J. O. (1998). Chain reactions linking acorns to gypsy moth outbreaks and Lyme disease dynamics. Science 279, 1023–1026.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | King C. M. (2005). ‘The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals.’ 2nd edn. (Oxford University Press: Melbourne.)

King C. M. , and Murphy E. C. (2005). Stoat. In ‘The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals’. 2nd edn. (Ed. C. M. King.) pp. 261–287. (Oxford University Press: Melbourne.)

Kolesik, P. , Sarfati, M. S. , Brockerhoff, E. G. , and Kelly, D. (2007). Description of Eucalyptodiplosis chionochloae sp. nov., a cecidomyiid feeding on inflorescences of Chionochloa (Poaceae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 34, 107–115.
Maxwell J. M. (2001). Fiordland takahe: population trends, dynamics and problems. In ‘The Takahe: Fifty Years of Conservation Management and Research’. (Eds W. G. Lee and I. G. Jamieson.) pp. 61–79. (University of Otago Press: Dunedin, New Zealand.)

McKone, M. J. , Kelly, D. , and Lee, W. G. (1998). Effect of climate change on mast-seeding species – frequency of mass flowering and escape from specialist insect seed predators. Global Change Biology 4, 591–596.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Miller A. P. (1999). Ecological energetics of feral house mice (Mus musculus) inhabiting coastal sand dunes. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Moors P. J. (1978). Methods for studying predators and their effects on forest birds. In ‘The Ecology and Control of Rodents in New Zealand Nature Reserves’. (Eds P. R. Dingwall, I. A. E. Atkinson and C. Hay.) pp. 47–57. (New Zealand Department of Lands and Survey: Wellington, New Zealand.)

Murphy, E. C. (1992). The effects of a natural increase in food supply on a wild population of house mice. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 16, 33–40.
Otis D. L. , Burnham K. P. , White G. C. , and Anderson D. R. (1978). Statistical inference from capture data on closed animal populations. Wildlife Monographs 62. The Wildlife Society, Washington, DC.

Pickard C. A. (1984). The population ecology of the house mouse (Mus musculus) on Mana Island. M.Sc. Thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Purdey, D. C. , King, C. M. , and Lawrence, B. (2004). Age structure, dispersion and diet of a population of stoats (Mustela erminea) in southern Fiordland during the decline phase of the beechmast cycle. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 31, 205–225.
R Development Core Team (2008). ‘R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing.’ (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria.) Available at http://www.R-project.org [verified March 2010].

Rees, M. , Kelly, D. , and Bjornstad, O. N. (2002). Snow tussocks, chaos, and the evolution of mast seeding. American Naturalist 160, 44–59.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Ruscoe W. A. , and Murphy E. C. (2005). House mouse. In ‘The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals’. 2nd edn. (Ed. C. M. King.) pp. 204–221. (Oxford University Press: Melbourne.)

Ruscoe, W. A. , Goldsmith, R. , and Choquenot, D. (2001). A comparison of population estimates and abundance indices for house mice inhabiting beech forests in New Zealand. Wildlife Research 28, 173–178.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Ruscoe W. A. , Choquenot D. , Heyward R. , Yockney I. , Young N. , and Drew K. (2003). Seed production, predators, and house mouse population eruptions in New Zealand beech forests. In ‘Rats, Mice and People’. (Eds G. R. Singleton, L. A. Hinds, C. J. Krebs and D. M. Spratt.) pp. 334–337. (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR): Canberra.)

Ruscoe, W. A. , Wilson, D. , McElrea, L. , McElrea, G. , and Richardson, S. J. (2004). A house mouse (Mus musculus) population eruption in response to heavy rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) seedfall in southern New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 28, 259–265.
Smith D. H. V. (2006). Movements, population dynamics and predatory behaviour of stoats inhabiting alpine grasslands in Fiordland. PhD Thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Smith, D. H. V. , Wilson, D. J. , Moller, H. , Murphy, E. C. , and van Heezik, Y. (2007). Selection of alpine grasslands over beech forest by stoats (Mustela erminea) in montane southern New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 31, 88–97.
Solly L. D. (1998). Responses in the genus Chionochloa to grazing by indigenous and exotic vertebrate herbivores: an evaluation of seven low-alpine snow tussock taxa in south western South Island, New Zealand. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Solomon, M. E. (1949). The natural control of animal populations. Journal of Animal Ecology 18, 1–35.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Wardle J. A. (1984). ‘The New Zealand Beeches: Ecology, Utilisation and Management.’ (New Zealand Forest Service: Christchurch, New Zealand.)

Wardle P. (1991). ‘Vegetation of New Zealand.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.)

Whitaker, J. O. (1966). Food of Mus musculus, Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi and Peromyscus leucopus in Vigo County, Indiana. Journal of Mammalogy 47, 473–486.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Whitaker A. H. (1978). The effects of rodents on reptiles and amphibians. In ‘The Ecology and Control of Rodents in New Zealand Nature Reserves’. (Eds P. R. Dingwall, I. A. E. Atkinson and C. Hay.) pp. 75–88. (New Zealand Department of Lands and Survey: Wellington, New Zealand.)

White, P. C. L. , and King, C. M. (2006). Predation on native birds in New Zealand beech forests: the role of functional relationships between stoats Mustela erminea and rodents. The Ibis 148, 765–771.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Wilson D. J. , McElrea G. J. , McElrea L. M. , Heyward R. P. , Peach R. M. E. , and Thomson C. (2006). Potential conservation impacts of high-altitude small mammals: a field study and literature review. DOC Research and Development Series 248. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. Available at http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/drds248.pdf [verified March 2010].

Wilson, D. J. , Efford, M. G. , Brown, S. J. , Williamson, J. F. , and McElrea, G. J. (2007). Estimating the density of ship rats in New Zealand forests with capture–mark–recapture trapping. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 31, 47–59.
Zar J. H. (1996). ‘Biostatistical Analysis.’ 3rd edn. (Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ.)





Appendix 1.  Number of seeds per square metre collected at three montane beech forest sites in the Borland Valley in 2003–06
Collections identified by bold type were used in between-year comparisons of autumn (Feb.–May or Mar.–May) seedfall. Autumn collections from 2003 and 2003/04 were also compared with winter (May–Nov.) collections from the same years. The start date used for each period is the final day of the field trip when seed trays were established or were last emptied, although collection in individual trays may have begun several days earlier
Click to zoom



Appendix 2.  Numbers of captures, density (WR09118_E1c.gif) and spatial detection parameters (WR09118_E1d.gif and WR09118_E1e.gif) estimated by program Density for each capture session of house mice in the Borland Valley, February 2003 to November 2007, at three sites in beech forest (F1–F3) and three sites in alpine tussock grassland (A1–A3)
Click to zoom



Appendix 3.  Alternative models of the relationship between flowering of snow tussocks (Chionochloa spp.) and alpine shrubs and herbs (2002/03 to 2005/06), and mouse abundance the next summer (2004–2007)
Table shows alternative fixed-effect models, where Int = Intercept; Tussock = all Chionochloa species combined (loge-transformed); other species names as in Fig. 2b (arcsin(square-root)-transformed). Correlations between variables show ranges of the correlation coefficients r over the three sites. Estimates and standard errors represent the coefficients fitted for the Tussock term and/or the other flowering variable fitted in each model. All models also included a random Site term
Click to zoom