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Tiffany
Hendrick
Department of Biological Sciences
Murray State University
Mentor: Terry
L. Derting
Title of Presentation: Fluctuating asymmetry as a measure of stress
from habitat disturbance.
Advisor: Terry L. Derting
Program: Biology and Mathematics in Population Studies Research
Fellow
Presented at: Kentucky Academy of Science, University of Tennessee
at Martin - Murray State University Sigma Xi Symposium
ABSTRACT
As human activities continue to impact wildlife populations, it is increasingly
important to understand the relationships between habitat disturbance
and stress. Prior research indicated that white-footed mice (Peromyscus
leucopus) in disturbed patches of habitat experience less moderate-term
stress than mice from undisturbed patches. Our objective was to determine
whether long-term stress is also reduced with disturbance. One tool for
examining prolonged stress in free-living animals is fluctuating asymmetry
(FA). We tested the null hypothesis that FA does not differ between mice
from disturbed and undisturbed habitats and between seasons. Adult male
mice were trapped from disturbed and undisturbed habitats during the summer
and winter of 2003. Disturbed patches were adjacent to either residential
or agricultural areas. Undisturbed patches were located in the Land Between
the Lakes National Recreation Area. Using digital photographs, we measured
eight bilateral characters of the dental, cranial, and post-cranial skeleton.
Peromyscus leucopus exhibited significantly lower levels of FA in disturbed
habitats and during the summer season. Peromyscus leucopus from the winter-undisturbed
group exhibited significantly more FA than mice from any other group.
Our results indicated that at least some forms of human disturbance are
associated with reduced long-term stress in our model species. These results
were consistent with previous reports indicating reduced moderate-term
stress in mice from disturbed habitat patches. We attribute this reduction
in stress primarily to the availability of high quality food resources,
such as human refuse and soybean and grain crops, adjacent to disturbed
habitat patches.
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Date Modified July, 2007 |
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