The Effects of a Small Rural Garbage Dump on Populations of Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque and Other Small Mammals

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Abstract
Trapping results indicated that omnivorous and scavenging small mammals such as P. leucopus and Tamias striatus were twice as abundant in a rural garbage dump as in a control area; the reverse was true for the more carnivorous and herbivorous forms Blarina brevicauda and Microtus pennsylvanicus, respectively. Garbage dumps are important breeding areas for P. leucopus. In enclosures simulating dump conditions, P. leucopus nested in bottles and tin cans with narrow openings which were predator-proof. Encounters between Mus musculus and P. leucopus in enclosures indicated that M. musculus is more aggressive than P. leucopus which influences the colonization of dumps by the former at the expense of the latter.

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