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Breeding Biology Of Oryzomys Palustris, The Marsh Rice Rat, In Eastern Virginia, Robert K. Rose, Erin A. Dreelin
Breeding Biology Of Oryzomys Palustris, The Marsh Rice Rat, In Eastern Virginia, Robert K. Rose, Erin A. Dreelin
Virginia Journal of Science
The objectives of our study were to determine the age of maturity, litter size, and the timing of the breeding season of marsh rice rats (Oryzomys palustris) of coastal Virginia. From May 1995 to May 1996, monthly samples of rice rats were live-trapped in two coastal tidal marshes of eastern Virginia, and then necropsied. Sexual maturity was attained at 30-40 g for both sexes. Mean litter size of 4.63 (N= 16) did not differ among months or in mass or parity classes. Data from two other studies conducted in the same county, one of them contemporaneous, also were …