MUSHINSKY, H.; MC COY, E.; LUKANIK, I.*; Univ. of South Florida, Tampa; Univ. of South Florida, Tampa; University of South Florida, Tampa: Do Podomys floridanus exist in metapopulations and do habitat measures have a deterministic effect on their demography?

The Florida mouse (Podomys floridanus) is listed as a species of special concern as a result of habitat loss. Little is known about the effects of habitat fragmentation on its demography. For populations of the Scrub lizard (Sceloporus woodi) which live in isolation from each other, patch size is positively correlated with abundance, survivorship and recruitment. Conversely, some rodents exist in metapopulations, in which dispersal of individuals among habitat patches provides increased genetic heterogeneity and thus viability of subpopulations. In metapopulations, therefore, conservation efforts would have to encompass all subpopulations and their habitats in order to be effective. This study attempts to determine whether P. floridanus exist in metapopulations. The study was conducted at Lake Wales Ridge State Forest near Avon Park, FL using fifteen trap arrays across nine scrub fragments of varying sizes. If trapping data and/or DNA analyses show no evidence of dispersal between habitat patches this will support the hypothesis that populations exist in isolation. Relationships between patch size and demographic parameters will then be examined. If metapopulation dynamics are observed, the effects of patch isolation on demographic measures as well as those of patch size will be investigated. To date, mark-recapture data on 184 mice have shown dispersal in only three individuals, indicating no significant overall migration; however, analyses of mtDNA isolated from tissue samples may confirm or refute this. Results will be evaluated in terms of how they can help in the planning of conservation efforts with regard to P. floridanus and Florida scrub ecosystems.