 The
Perdido Key Beach Mouse
Dune plants are the primary source of food for the endangered
Perdido Key Beach Mouse. The small white and gray mouse, weighing
only 13-16 grams, blends in well with the white quartz sand of
northern Gulf coast beaches. While the Perdido Key Beach Mouse
feeds primarily on the seeds of sea oats and bluestem, it will
occasionally eat
insects.
The Perdido Key beach mouse is a nocturnal animal, spending most
daylight hours in their burrows. Unlike many species, Beach Mice
are monogamous, with mated pairs tending to remain together as
long as both live. A typical beach mouse pair averages 3-4 offspring
per litter and has roughly 3 litters per year.
In contrast to its inland relatives, the Perdido Key Beach Mouse
steers clear of people, buildings and trash, instead  preferring
to meander among the dunes near its burrow. Mouse burrows are
usually located in the dunes at the base of a shrub, clump of
grass or near some vegetated cover. The burrow itself consists
of an entrance tube, a nest cavity, and an escape tube which is
closed off but near the surface of the sand. If an intruder, such
as a snake or crab, enters a beach mouse burrow, mice make a hasty
retreat out the escape tube.
The Perdido Key beach mouse was listed as an endangered species
in 1985. Loss of habitat to development is considered to be the
main factor which led to the decline of the species. Hurricanes
have also taken their toll on the endangered mouse.The beach mouse
population at Perdido Key was nearly wiped out in the mid-1990's
when hurricanes Erin and Opal ravaged Perdido Key’s beaches.
Numbering less than 40 after the storms, the mice have regenerated
quite well, with current population estimates near 500. While
populations appear to be growing,
the Perdido Key Beach Mouse will probably never make it off the
endangered species list because of continued habitat loss and degradation.
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The Nature of Perdido Key Beach Dune Habitat
Other Beach and Dune Dwellers
The Situation
Got Habitat?
Predation
Economics of Dune Habitat
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