An investigation into home range size, home range overlap, and use of runways in the striped mouse, Rhabdomys pumilio (Sparrmann) in the South Western Cape, South Africa.

Rhabdomys pumilio is a widespread, common and predominantly granivorous rodent
species in the CFR, yet little is known about the ecology, habitat use, and its role in
the Cape Floristic Region. It is thought to be potentially important as a seed predator,
a seed disperser, and as a prey species for carnivores. This study investigates the area
used in 24 hours, the overlap in these areas, and use of runways by R. pumilio, in an
attempt to learn more about the microecology of the species in the De Hoop Nature
Reserve. The spool and line tracking technique was used to asses the size of the area
utilized in 24 hours and microhabitat use. There was a trend for males to have
greater mean home range area, maximum polygon dimension, estimated thread used,
and proportion of distance moved along runways, but only the mean estimated thread
used was significantly different between males and females (Z=2.12132, P=.05). It
was suggested that it is possible that territoriality amongst males, and limited key
resource areas could limit population sizes and densities.