Observations Regarding the Diet of Florida Mice, 

 Podomys floridanus (Rodentia: Muridae) 



Cheri A. Jones 1 



Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, 



111 North Jefferson Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39201-2897 



ABSTRACT — The diet and feeding behavior of the Florida mouse 

 (Podomys floridanus) were examined during an ecological study in 

 Putnam County, Florida. Field and laboratory observations pro- 

 vided additional evidence that Podomys takes a wide variety of 

 plant and animal foods. Preliminary preference tests with acorns 

 from six species of oaks suggest that acorns of the dominant 

 species (Quercus laevis) in the study area are less favored than 

 those of other species. The crash of a population where supple- 

 mental food was provided suggests that local populations are not 

 food limited. 



Almost nothing is known about the natural diet of the Florida 

 mouse, Podomys floridanus (Chapman). Merriam (1890:53) reported 

 an observation that these mice ate seeds of "scrub-palmettoes" in 

 southeast Florida. The association of Podomys with turkey oaks 

 (Quercus laevis) and other oaks was noted by Merriam (1890) and 

 Bangs (1898); Layne (1970), Humphrey et al. (1985), and Packer 

 and Layne (1991) suggested that acorns were a major food during 

 masting years. Milstrey (1987) described Podomys eating engorged 

 soft ticks (Ornithodoros turicata americanus) that parasitize gopher 

 frogs (Rana capito) and gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus). 

 Presumably other foods include insects, seeds, nuts, fungi, and other 

 plant material (Layne 1978, Jones and Layne In Press). The study by 

 Packer and Layne (1991) is the first to examine foraging behavior of 

 this species. 



Effects of food supplies on local distributions of Podomys also 

 have been poorly studied. The only attempt to determine whether 

 populations are limited by food availability was the supplementation 

 experiment performed by Young (Young 1983, Young and Stout 1986) 

 on two grids in sand pine (Pinus clausa) scrub in Orange County, 

 Florida. Other rodents responded to the additional food, but Podomys 

 rarely appeared on grids and failed to establish a permanent population 

 during the experiment, although the species was abundant previously. 

 Young (1983) concluded that Podomys populations were limited by 

 factors other than food. 



'Present address: Denver Museum of Natural History, 2001 Colorado Boulevard, 

 Denver, Colorado 80205-5798. 



Brimleyana 18:131-140, June 1993 131 



