01581nas a2200145   4500008004100000245010800041210006900149300001300218490000800231520101800239653002201257100001801279700001801297856012001315       1990                        eng d00aInfluence of plant litter on patch use by foraging Peromyscus maniculatus and Reithrodontomys megalotis0 aInfluence of plant litter on patch use by foraging Peromyscus ma  a195 -1980 v1243 a<p>The effect of plant litter on foraging patch choice by prairie deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii) and western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis) was examined in laboratory trials. In each trial, equal amounts of millet seeds were simultaneously offered overnight in three patches with different amounts of litter. Both deer mice and harvest mice removed significantly more seeds from the patch with the least litter as compared to the other two patches. The mean proportion of seeds taken from the patch with the the least litter by harvest mice (56.9%) was significantly smaller than that taken by deer mice (84.5%), as expected from patterns of habitat selection in tallgrass prairie. During the 2nd night, seeds were offered only under one depth of litter (15-420 g per patch for deer mice and 30-420 g for harvest mice). The amount of seeds taken was not influenced by increased litter depth for either species, although foraging success was expected to decrease as litter depth increased</p>10atallgrass prairie1 aKaufman, D.W.1 aKaufman, G.A.  uhttp://knz.lternet.edu/content/influence-plant-litter-patch-use-foraging-peromyscus-maniculatus-and-reithrodontomys