We studied the micro- and macrohabitat preferences of black rats (Rattus rattus) and house mice (Mus musculus) on St. Eustatius, a small, inhabited Caribbean island. Our study builds upon a preliminary assessment of invasive alien rodents on St. Eustatius, which has no extant native rodent species. We deployed tracking tunnels (baited cards with ink left overnight to track animal visitors to the card) in 12 macrohabitats to determine the presence and relative abundance of rodent species. Data were collected between July 2017 and May 2019. We collected data in 5 × 5 meter (n = 120) plots to determine whether grass cover, leaf litter cover, number of living trees, and other microhabitat components influenced habitat use by rats and mice. Rats were more likely to occur in microhabitats with more live trees, but with fewer logs and less grass and bare ground. Mice were more likely to occur in microhabitats with more bare ground. Rat tracks were recorded in all macrohabitats, whereas mouse tracks were detected in all but four, namely: C, M2, M3, and M5. Based on tracking tunnel data, the relative abundance of rats and mice ranged from 0% to 70%, respectively, in all macrohabitats over the study period. Rat relative abundance in forest macrohabitats differed significantly from that in other macrohabitats. Rat relative abundance in regenerating grassland differed significantly from that in other macrohabitats. There is evidence of habitat selection by rats at the micro- and macrohabitat scale, which could be linked to food availability. However, our study revealed only weak or no patterns of habitat selection by mice. Rat relative abundance differed significantly between the second and third assessment, and between the fourth and fifth assessment. Mouse relative abundance differed significantly between the first and second assessment.

中文翻译：

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荷兰加勒比海圣尤斯达蒂斯的啮齿动物的微观和宏观栖息地偏好

我们研究了在小型有人居住的加勒比岛圣尤斯泰迪乌斯岛上的黑鼠（Rattus rattus）和家鼠（Mus musculus）在微观和宏观上的偏好。我们的研究建立在对圣尤斯达修斯（St. Eustatius）外来入侵性啮齿动物的初步评估上，该物种没有现存的本土啮齿动物。我们在12个大型生境中部署了跟踪隧道（用墨水诱饵的卡片放置一夜，以追踪动物的访客），以确定啮齿动物的存在和相对丰富度。数据是在2017年7月至2019年5月之间收集的。我们在5×5米（n = 120）的地块中收集了数据，以确定草皮，树叶凋落物，活树的数量以及其他微生境成分是否影响了大鼠和小鼠的栖息地使用。在具有更多活树的微栖息地中，大鼠发生的可能性更高，但原木更少，草和裸露的土地更少。老鼠更容易出现在裸露地更多的微生境中。在所有的大型栖息地中都记录有老鼠的踪迹，而在除C，M2，M3和M5之外的所有四个地方都检测到了老鼠的踪迹。根据跟踪的隧道数据，在研究期内，所有大型生境中大鼠和小鼠的相对丰度分别为0％至70％。森林大生境中的大鼠相对丰度与其他大生境中的相对丰富度显着不同。再生草地中大鼠的相对丰度与其他大型生境中的相对丰度有显着差异。有证据表明，大鼠在微观和宏观栖息地规模上选择了栖息地，这可能与食物的可获得性有关。但是，我们的研究表明，小鼠选择栖息地的方式很少或没有。在第二次和第三次评估之间以及第四次和第五次评估之间，大鼠相对丰度显着不同。第一次和第二次评估之间，小鼠的相对丰度明显不同。