Demography of a population of Peromyscus leucopus

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Abstract
Livetrapping and removal trapping were used to monitor a population of Peromyscus leucopus. Breeding adult arid young of the year females averaged 2.0 and 1.1 litters per year, respectively. Nest mortality was 12–31%, while 58% of the juveniles disappeared within 2 weeks after weaning. The rate of disappearance of juvenile males (77%) was higher than that of juvenile females (44%); the greater loss of males was attributed to mortality. Loss of subadult and adult mice within 2 weeks after initial capture averaged 45 and 51%, respectively, and did not differ between the sexes. However, more males than females were recorded as entering the trapping grids, indicating that males tend to explore new areas more than females. Among resident mice, adult males had the highest rate of disappearance (0.31/week) while adult females had the lowest (0.05/week).