Movements of Harvest Mice Tagged with Gold-198

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Abstract
Four eastern harvest mice, Reithrodontomys h. humulis, were tagged with gold-198 wires and traced in the field by the use of a Geiger counter. This method is superior to live-trapping because multiple-handling of animals is eliminated, animal movements are unrestricted, and more information about an individual can be obtained in a shorter length of time. When mice were released from live-traps their movements during the following several hours were suggestive of meandering, indicating that they may have been confused, frightened, or hungry from overnight trap confinement. Small globular-shaped grass nests located in or under the herbaceous layer of vegetation were used as den sites. The nests were situated on the periphery of the range and varied from 2 to 4 per animal. Harvest mice movements were mostly limited to night, but during winter occasional short diurnal movements from nests were recorded. Certain areas within the range of each tagged mouse were avoided completely. The behavior and movements of the tagged mice presented a complex picture of spatial relationships. Calculation of range size was not undertaken because presently used methods and concepts were difficult to apply to the data.

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