Masked Shrew (Sorex cinereus) Abundance, Diet and Prey Selection in an Irrigated Forest

Moisture has been proposed as the primary factor affecting local abundance of shrews. We studied invertebrate availability and masked shrew (Sorex cinereus) diet in wastewater-irrigated and nonirrigated forests in central Pennsylvania to better understand the relationships among moisture, invertebra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American midland naturalist 1997-10, Vol.138 (2), p.268-275
Main Authors: McCay, Timothy S., Storm, Gerald L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Autumn
Behavior
Diet
Earthworms
Ecology
Environment
Food
Food availability
Insect larvae
Invertebrates
Rodents
Shrews
Spiders
Wastewater irrigation
Water resources
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Summary:Moisture has been proposed as the primary factor affecting local abundance of shrews. We studied invertebrate availability and masked shrew (Sorex cinereus) diet in wastewater-irrigated and nonirrigated forests in central Pennsylvania to better understand the relationships among moisture, invertebrate abundance and shrew diet. Earthworms, gastropods, isopods, millipedes, larval beetles and larval flies were more abundant in irrigated than nonirrigated plots during both spring and autumn, indicating greater availability of certain foods. Larval beetles and larval flies composed a greater portion of the masked shrew diet in irrigated plots during autumn (P < 0.05). Spiders, which were less abundant in irrigated than in nonirrigated plots during spring and autumn, made up a smaller portion of the masked shrew diet in irrigated plots during autumn (P < 0.01). Masked shrews rarely ate millipedes and isopods, although these invertebrates were very abundant in irrigated plots. Shrews did not feed on invertebrates in proportion to their abundance (P < 0.05), but selected some taxa (e.g., insect larvae) and avoided others (e.g., millipedes). Our study suggests that increased populations of invertebrates in moist forests, especially those selected by shrews, affected the diet of shrews and may be a mechanism for the increased abundance of shrews in moist environments.
ISSN:0003-0031
1938-4238
DOI:10.2307/2426820