Population Regulation in Deer Mice: The Role of Females

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Abstract
(1) The influence of adult females on juvenile survival was assessed in a northern population of deer mice Peromyscus maniculatus during the snow-free season of 1983. (2) Removal of breeding females from two areas resulted in a higher recruitment of juveniles. This was due to an increase in the survival of resident juveniles during their first month of life before they were recruited into the trapable population. (3) Survival of all trapable juveniles did not differ between experimental and control areas. (4) Production (number of juveniles recruited per female) was negatively related to the number of breeding females and unrelated to the number of breeding males. (5) Densities were 1.5-3 times higher in the female removal grids than in the control grids during late July. (6) Migration of adults during the breeding season was strongly biased towards males. There was no apparent sex bias in migration among juveniles. (7) Thus, in the study area of the southern Yukon [Canada] female deer mice determine juvenile recruitment, and males are unimportant in population regulation.