Morphological variation in white-footed mice across an urban-to-rural gradient in Georgia
Disciplines
Biology | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Urbanization is a rising concern for species across the globe as the human population continues to increase and human impacts on native ecosystems expand in scope and intensity. With the novel challenges due to human land use, wildlife populations are facing issues with food, mate, and space availability likely leading them to change their natural habitats and preferences. Our study investigates the effects of urbanization on Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse) populations across rural, suburban, and urban sites in northern Georgia. Small mammals like P. leucopus are especially susceptible to urbanization and habitat fragmentation due to their limited likelihood to disperse and travel across impervious surfaces such as roadways. We collected P. leucopus individuals from 17 sites along the urban-to-rural gradient extending northward from Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia to rural Bartow County, Georgia. We collected DNA samples, standard measurements (mass, total length, tail length, hindfoot length, and pinna length), and the skull from each individual. We then took 19 measurements from each skull and digitized 21 landmarks from each skull. Assuming that any genetic variation between populations would be reflected in skull morphology, we analyzed the skull measurements using principal components analysis (PCA) to quantify differences between animals captured at urban, suburban, and rural sites. These morphological data may serve as potential indicators of adaptation to selective pressures such as habitat fragmentation, food availability, and changes in predation risk, or simply genetic drift. Our results have the potential to inform not only conservation efforts but also public health by increasing knowledge of the new ecology of these disease vectoring animals.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CSM - Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Nicholas Green
Morphological variation in white-footed mice across an urban-to-rural gradient in Georgia
Urbanization is a rising concern for species across the globe as the human population continues to increase and human impacts on native ecosystems expand in scope and intensity. With the novel challenges due to human land use, wildlife populations are facing issues with food, mate, and space availability likely leading them to change their natural habitats and preferences. Our study investigates the effects of urbanization on Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse) populations across rural, suburban, and urban sites in northern Georgia. Small mammals like P. leucopus are especially susceptible to urbanization and habitat fragmentation due to their limited likelihood to disperse and travel across impervious surfaces such as roadways. We collected P. leucopus individuals from 17 sites along the urban-to-rural gradient extending northward from Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia to rural Bartow County, Georgia. We collected DNA samples, standard measurements (mass, total length, tail length, hindfoot length, and pinna length), and the skull from each individual. We then took 19 measurements from each skull and digitized 21 landmarks from each skull. Assuming that any genetic variation between populations would be reflected in skull morphology, we analyzed the skull measurements using principal components analysis (PCA) to quantify differences between animals captured at urban, suburban, and rural sites. These morphological data may serve as potential indicators of adaptation to selective pressures such as habitat fragmentation, food availability, and changes in predation risk, or simply genetic drift. Our results have the potential to inform not only conservation efforts but also public health by increasing knowledge of the new ecology of these disease vectoring animals.