How to translate text using browser tools
1 April 2007 DIET OF THE JALAPAN PINE VOLE (MICROTUS QUASIATER) IN MATURE MOUNTAIN CLOUD FOREST
Ricardo López-Wilchis, Jose W. Torres-Flores
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

We determined the feeding habits, including seasonal and annual variations in diet composition, of the Jalapan pine vole (Microtus quasiater), an endemic rodent from Mexico. During 3 annual cycles, feces were collected on a monthly basis from a population located in a mountain cloud forest at Apulco, Puebla, Mexico. Microscope slides were prepared from each fecal sample, and fragments of food items were identified by comparison with photomicrographic references. Thirty-six plant species occurred in the diet, representing more than 60% of the identified plant species in our study area. Roots, sedge heads, seeds, dicotyledonous flowers, and fungi each contributed less than 10% of the diet. This rodent consumed 85% of the monocotyledonous species present in the area, but only 50% of the dicotyledonous species. The diet showed seasonal and yearly differences. M. quasiater remained highly selective in its diet.

Ricardo López-Wilchis and Jose W. Torres-Flores "DIET OF THE JALAPAN PINE VOLE (MICROTUS QUASIATER) IN MATURE MOUNTAIN CLOUD FOREST," Journal of Mammalogy 88(2), 515-518, (1 April 2007). https://doi.org/10.1644/06-MAMM-A-105R1.1
Accepted: 1 August 2006; Published: 1 April 2007
KEYWORDS
diet
Mexico
Microtus quasiater
mountain cloud forest
Seasonality
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top