biology

Oldfield mouse

Oldfield mouse is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Oldfield mouse rather than just read about it. In short: The oldfield mouse, oldfield deermouse or beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus) is a nocturnal species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is a species of the genus Peromyscus, a closely related group of New World mice often called "deermice", that primarily eats seeds.

Key takeaways

Oldfield mouse belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Oldfield mouse to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Oldfield mouse from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The oldfield mouse, oldfield deermouse or beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus) is a nocturnal species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is a species of the genus Peromyscus, a closely related group of New World mice often called "deermice", that primarily eats seeds. It lives in holes throughout the Southeastern United States in beaches and sandy fields. Predators to these mice include birds and mammals. In 2016, these mice were in the least concern category on the IUCN Red List with certain subspecies classified as extinct, critically endangered, endangered or near threatened.

Distribution and habitat The oldfield mouse occurs only in the southeastern United States, ranging from Florida to Tennessee. They primarily live in beaches and sandy fields.

Description The mouse has fawn-colored upperparts and grey to white underparts through most of its range, but on white sandy beaches, the mouse is light or even white. Inland populations are darker and smaller with shorter tails that are dusky above and white below. General body and tail color may vary slightly depending upon geographical location.

Behavior The mouse is primarily nocturnal. Oldfield mice construct elaborate burrow systems with entrance tunnels, nest chambers, and escape routes.

Diet P. polionotus is omnivorous and the principal diet is seasonal seeds of wild grasses and forbs, but blackberries, acorns, and wild peas may be consumed.

Shelter These mice dig holes in earth to create homes. Spiders, snakes, and other animals may move into a burrow.

Reproduction

Survival Birds and mammals prey upon the oldfield mouse. Various types of parasites can effect oldfield mice, with nematodes being the main ones. One mouse survived in captivity for 5.5 years.

Conservation In 2010, the beach mouse was in the least concern category on the IUCN Red List. For the beach mouse's subspecies, out of sixteen known, one is extinct, one was listed critically endangered, four endangered and two near threatened. Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the following beach mice are protected as endangered or threatened subspecies:

Southeastern beach mouse (P. p. niveiventris) – Threatened Anastasia Island beach mouse (P. p. phasma) – Endangered Alabama beach mouse (P. p. ammobates) – Endangered Perdido Key beach mouse (P. p. trissyllepsis) – Endangered Choctawhatchee beach mouse (P. p. allophrys) – Endangered St. Andrew beach mouse (P. p. peninsularis) – Endangered The pallid beach mouse (P. p. decoloratus) is presumed extinct. The Santa Rosa beach mouse (P. p. leucocephalus) is listed as critically imperiled by NatureServe.

Predation In Florida, beach mice may be eaten by some growth stage of invasive snakes such as Burmese pythons, reticulated pythons, Southern African rock pythons, Central African rock pythons, boa constrictors, yellow anacondas, Bolivian anacondas, dark-spotted anacondas, and green anacondas.

References

Footnotes

Works cited

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Oldfield mouse

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Oldfield mouse claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Oldfield mouse before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Oldfield mouse ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Oldfield mouse

In research: Oldfield mouse appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Oldfield mouse in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Oldfield mouse is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Endemic rodents of the United States, IUCN Red List least concern species, Mammals described in 1843, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Oldfield mouse outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Oldfield mouse in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Oldfield mouse means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Oldfield mouse out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Oldfield mouse in simple terms?

Why does Oldfield mouse matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Oldfield mouse?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Oldfield mouse.