Abstract
Santa Catalina Island has an endemic mouse, Peromyscus slevini, which is the only native rodent species on the island. However, specimens of P. fraterculus have been recorded on the island. P. fraterculus is the most common species of Peromyscus off Santa Catalina Island in the Baja California peninsula. The records show the absence of P. slevini in the 1990s and an increasing number of P. fraterculus during the 2000s. P. slevini has recently been collected in 2007. The current situation in Santa Catalina Island shows a strong expansion of P. fraterculus and the restriction of P. slevini to the canyons. This study confirms for the first time the recent invasion of a peninsular native species in one island on the Gulf of California. Peromyscus fraterculus is a better desert adapted species in contrast to P. slevini. Under those conditions, in the near future, P. slevini could be extinct.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Álvarez-Castañeda ST (1994) Current status of the rice rat Oryzomys couesi peninsularis. Southwest Nat 39:99–100. doi:10.2307/3672202
Álvarez-Castañeda ST, Cortés-Calva P (1996) Anthropogenic extinction of the endemic deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus cineritius, on San Roque Island, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Southwest Nat 41:99–100
Álvarez-Castañeda ST, Cortés-Calva P (2002a) Peromyscus slevini. Mamm Species 705:1–2. doi:10.1644/1545-1410(2002)705<0001:PS>2.0.CO;2
Álvarez-Castañeda ST, Cortés-Calva P (2002b) Extirpation of Bailey’s pocket mouse, Chaetodipus baileyi fornicatus (Heteromyidae: Mammalia), from Isla Montserrat, Baja California Sur, Mexico. West N Am Nat 62:196–197
Álvarez-Castañeda ST, Ortega-Rubio A (2003) Current status of rodents on islands in the Gulf of California. Conserv Biol 109:157–163. doi:10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00121-0
Álvarez-Castañeda ST, Cortés-Calva P, Méndez L, Ortega-Rubio A (2006) Sea of Cortes island development call for mitigation. BioSciences 56:825–829. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2006)56[825:DITSOC]2.0.CO;2
Burt WH (1934) Subgeneric allocation of the white-footed mouse Peromyscus slevini, from the Gulf of California, Mexico. J Mammal 15:159–160. doi:10.2307/1373985
Hogan KM, Davis SK, Greenbaum IF (1997) Mitochondrial-DNA analysis of the systematic relationships within the Peromyscus maniculatus species group. J Mammal 78:733–743. doi:10.2307/1382932
Mailliard J (1924) A new deer mouse (Peromyscus slevini) from the Gulf of California. Proc Calif Acad Sci 12:1219–1222
Mellink E (1992) Status de los heterómidos y cricétidos endémicos del estado de Baja California. Comunicaciones académicas, serie ecología, Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Ensenada, B.C., Mexico 2:1–10
Polis GA, Hurd SD, Jackson CT, Sánchez Piñero F (1997) El Niño effects on the dynamics and control of an island ecosystem in the Gulf of California. Ecology 78:1884–1897
SEMARNAT (2002) Proyecto de Norma Oficial Mexicana Proy-NOM-059-Ecol-2001 Protección Ambiental Especies nativas de México de flora y fauna silvestres-categorías de riesgo y especificaciones para su inclusión, exclusión o cambio Lista de especies en riesgo 6 de marzo 2002 Diario Oficial de la Federación, Mexico City
Smith LR, Hale DW, Greenbaum IF (2000) Systematic implications of chromosomal data from two insular species of Peromyscus from the Gulf of California. J Hered 91:162–165. doi:10.1093/jhered/91.2.162
Acknowledgments
CONACYT (SEMARNAT-2002-E01-0193, 23423, 80455 grants) for its financial support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T., Arnaud, G., Cortés-Calva, P. et al. Invasive migration of a mainland rodent to santa catalina island and its effect on the endemic species Peromyscus slevini . Biol Invasions 12, 437–439 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-009-9466-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-009-9466-8