Journal article
Land cover mediates predator effects on urban deer mouse abundance
Biological conservation, Vol.313, 111640
01/2026
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111640
Abstract
Urbanization alters biodiversity, contributing to habitat loss and fragmentation and non-native species introductions. Despite these changes, urban environments provide habitat for many species and could be managed to support diverse wildlife communities. However, we do not fully understand species' responses to urban environments or the mechanisms that drive them, particularly how species interactions (e.g., predation) affect urban populations. This lack of understanding restricts our ability to manage urban habitats to support wildlife communities rather than individual species. We sought to understand how urbanization affects and interacts with predator distributions to influence the abundance of small mammalian prey. We identified the impacts of urban land cover and predator occurrence on population persistence and recruitment of deer mice (Peromyscus spp.) using a hierarchical Bayesian abundance model. Mouse population persistence was lower when domestic cat (Felis catus) occupancy was high. However, persistence probabilities increased as native vegetation cover increased, even when cat occupancy was high at those naturally-vegetated sites. In contrast, mouse persistence was unrelated to red fox (Vulpes vulpes) occupancy. Our results strengthen mounting evidence that free-ranging cats negatively affect native prey populations, especially where human-modified land cover is high, and demonstrate a loss of prey population regulation for urban native mammalian predators. We further provide the first evidence that urban mouse populations exhibit low persistence and high recruitment, and thus are spatially and temporally dynamic. Managing free-ranging cats and providing structural heterogeneity in vegetation are critical for maintaining urban small mammalian prey and trophic systems in cities.
•Domestic cats significantly reduce the persistence of urban deer mouse populations.•Increasing natural vegetation cover reduces the impact of cats on mouse populations.•Urban prey populations may be highly dynamic, disrupting urban food chains.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Land cover mediates predator effects on urban deer mouse abundance
- Creators
- Rachel N. Larson - University of Iowa, Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, 316 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USAHeather A. Sander - University of Iowa, Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, 316 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USAMason Fidino - Lincoln Park Zoo
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Biological conservation, Vol.313, 111640
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111640
- ISSN
- 0006-3207
- eISSN
- 1873-2917
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Grant note
- University of Iowa Graduate College Post Comprehensive Summer and Doctoral Dissertation fellowships
We acknowledge the many undergraduates who assisted with animal handling and data collection, especially Darion Jebson, Zoe Leone, and Mizuki Wittmer. We also thank the many landowners, public and pri-vate, who gave us permission to conduct research on their properties. RNL was funded by the University of Iowa Graduate College Post Comprehensive Summer and Doctoral Dissertation fellowships.
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/2026
- Academic Unit
- School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability
- Record Identifier
- 9985035036002771
Metrics
2 Record Views