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"SHREW TALK" - Vol. 1, No. 27 - 14 December
1997
SHREW TALK - 14 December 1997 - Vol. 1, No. 27
Number of Recipients: >287
.
Contents of this Issue
.
o Research
1. Re: Identifying shrew species without killing them I
2. Re: Identifying shrew species without killing them II
3. Re: Shrews in the house / Virus alert?
4. Trapping water shrews (Sorex palustris)
5. Request: Suncus murinus ecology data
6. Number of mammae in shrews?
7. Re: Number of mammae in shrews?
8. Fish as predators on shrews
o Miscellaneous
1. Request: Educational films about shrews
2. Shrew Folklore, Stories and Superstition
o Shrew Bibliography: New Papers / Books
1. Cawsey, P.A. 1991: Shrews on moorland
2. Frafjord, K. et. al. 1994 / 1995: Norwegian shrews
o What's New on the Shrew (ist's) Site 1. New Shrewists on e-mail
o Shrew Talk Instructions
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o RESEARCH
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1) Re: Identifying shrew species without killing them I A reply to
J. Whitaker (1/26)
.
Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 09:48:22 -0700 (MST)
From:<ddansere@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca>
Subject: Re: reliable method to live trap shrews
.
Joe, Thanks for your help. I am worried about identifing S. monticolus,
S. arcticus and S. cinereus all which can be about the same size and even
colouration. I will try the lens and probe method.
I have autposied about 400+ shrews recently and I have found that sexing
young of the year shrews is difficult to immpossible. Granted some of my
specimens are a bit rotten but I was wondering if you know of any papers
that would help me with this task.
thanks again Stephen
Stephen D. Petersen Phone (403) 492-4622 Department of Biological Sciences
Fax (403) 492-1903 University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, T6J 2E9
_______________________________________________________________________
2) Re: Identifying shrew species without killing them II
A reply to S. Petersen & J. Whitaker (ST 1/25 & 1/26)
.
Date: Tue, 09 Dec 1997 00:30:16 -0700
From: Don Pattie <donpatt@nait.ab.ca>
Subject: SHREW TALK: Vol. 1, No. 26 - 08 December 1997 -Reply
.
The book Mammals of the North American Parks and Prairies has keys
to all of the shrews of Montana, North Dakota and the three Prairie Provinces
of Canada based upon either a specimen in hand or a skull. Sorex cinereus,
S. hoyi, S. monticolus, S. arcticus and S. palustris are all covered. The
book gives distribution, life histories, description and a bit on parasites
of each of the species too. The reference is Pattie, D.L. and R.S.Hoffmann
1992, Mammals of the North American Parks and Prairies, 2nd ed. xvii+579pp.
Published by D.L.Pattie, 10404-114 Ave., Edmonton, Alberta, T5G 0K9. It
is possible to lift the lip and examine the unicuspids on both S.hoyi and
S. monticolus barehanded without worry because neither of them is strong
enough to penetrate finger skin with a bite.
Best regards, Don Pattie
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Edmonton, Alberta, T5G 2R1
_______________________________________________________________________
3) Re: Shrews in the house / Virus alert? A reply to Richard Lehr (ST
1/26)
.
Date: Tue, 09 Dec 1997 00:30:16 -0700
From: Don Pattie <donpatt@nait.ab.ca>
Subject: SHREW TALK: Vol. 1, No. 26 - 08 December 1997 -Reply
.
Dear Rick: Shrews will eat practically any flesh in winter, as any
fur trapper knows, but I don't know if the little shrews you are catching
would ever kill an adult mouse. There is no report that I have seen implicating
shrews in the carrying or transmission of Hanta virus. Shrew habits would
not promote transmission to humans in the way deer mice pass along the
virus.
Best Regards, Don Pattie
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Edmonton, Alberta, T5G 2R1
_______________________________________________________________________
4) Trapping water shrews (Sorex palustris)
.
From: "Hartman, Lisa" <LHARTMAN@fwhdept.env.gov.bc.ca>
To: Jon Planck <rjplanck@limnoterragroup.com>
Cc: "'j.benge@herts.ac.uk'" <j.benge@herts.ac.uk>,
shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 10:47:00 -0800
.
I just got your request for information on my trapping methods for
water shrew (Sorex palustris brooksi - Vancouver Island, British Columbia).
I have cc'd Jon Benge, who requested similar info on water shrew trap techniques
in one of the last Shrewtalks, and Werner, who is interested in keeping
abreast of replies. I don't remember exactly how much information I provided
in the original shrewtalk note, so bear with me if I repeat myself!
The first year of my study, I set lines of 20 pitfalls along sample
streams, spaced 15m apart. Because we are in a rainy part of the world
(you didn't mention where you are?), I set the pitfalls about 1m away from
the water's edge to reduce the chances of flooding. I ran vapour barrier
drift fence (1.3m) from the pitfall to the stream edge. Using this method
I caught very few water shrews. We also were running snap traps, which
caught no water shrews, despite being placed closer to the water. Instead
we caught large numbers of deer mice, and other non-target species, and
I chose to discontinue the use of snaps.
In response to a brief submission to a newsletter for the Society of
Northwestern Vertebrate Biology, before my second field season, I got very
helpful information on catching water shrews from Dr. Lee Simons based
on his research in northern California. He caught many (60-90+ depending
on the data set) water shrews while running traplines at a range of distances
from water (0,1,5,25 and 100 I believe) - almost all of which were in the
0m traps. Even traps only 1m away caught very few, and these were under
unusual circumstances (changing water levels)
In Year 2 of my study we dug pitfalls into the water table at the immediate
stream/land interface (e.g. within 1-2 centimetres of the water). Of course
these pitfalls are vulnerable to flooding if water levels rise due to rainfall,
and may therefore require quite a bit of maintenence. To keep them in place
they were weighted down with a rock on one side, or the tip of a long piece
of wood, which was in turn weighted down with a rock further back. I ran
1.3 m of vapour barrier drift fence from about 1 foot into the water, across
the centre of the pitfall, and up the bank. We took care to surround the
pitfall with very smooth, fine material from the nearby banks (like a mini-golf
course). We were also running minnow traps to assess presence and relative
abundance of fish in the sample streams. We caught water shrews readily
in both types of traps at most of our survey sites, supporting the information
provided by Lee S. that water shrews are habitat specialists and consequently
require specialized trapping methods to be reliably detected.
Based on info I received from W. Roberts, of the University of Alberta,
I am planning to experiment further with the minnow traps, using flotation
materials, to see whether they can be used as live traps, as pitfalls are
time consuming to put in, and as I mentioned, vulnerable to flooding. To
date I have not tabulated by catch per unit effort for the two different
types of traps.
The capture data from my two seasons is not strictly comparable, as
I did not re-sample the same sites. However, Year one yielded far fewer
captures, with double the effort, so I think the difference was related
to trap placement. This info, and the data in Lee Simons paper (perhaps
he can provide the reference to shrewtalk?), suggest that you should trap
as close to the water as you can get to detect water shrews, even though
the traps may require more attention.
I am not sure how much this might vary in different regions or habitats,
of course. Are you doing your work in western NA? Is it part of a thesis
project, or contract? If you do proceed with some water shrew work I'd
very much appreciate hearing how it goes. In the meantime, best of luck!
Regards, Lisa
_______________________________________________________________________
5) Request: Suncus murinus ecology data
.
On 10.12.97 22:07
From: Patricia Schiml (pas4n@virginia.edu)
.
Hello, I work with musk shrews, Suncus murinus and was wondering if
anyone would contact me with good citations for musk shrew natural ecology
and density measurements. Also, if anyone knows of any good field work
done on the musk shrew, I would love to hear of it.
_______________________________________________________________________
6) Number of mammae in shrews?
.
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 11:16:21 +0100
From: Martinoli Adriano <Martinol@unimi.it>
Subject: A question...
.
Please, can you tell me how many mammae have this species ?
Sorex alpinus, Sorex araneus, Sorex minutus, Neomys anomalus, Neomys
fodiens, Suncus etruscus, Crocidura leucodon, Crocidura suaveolens
Thank you very much
Adriano Martinoli Dipartimento di Biologia Strutturale e Funzionale
III Facoltà di Scienze MM.FF.NN. - sede di Varese Via Ravasi, 2
- 21100 Varese Telephone: (0039) +332 250210 Fax (0039) +332 281308 e-mail:
martinol@unimi.it Look at URL: http://imiucca.csi.unimi.it/~biolib/mimmo.html
_______________________________________________________________________
7) Re: Number of mammae in shrews?
.
From: Werner Haberl - shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at
.
Adriano, I was hoping to find this information easily in "Handbuch
der Saeugetiere Europas", but there the number of teats is only stated
for Sorex minutus (=6). The only other reference I had at hand quickly
is: Michalak, I. - Number and distribution of teats in Neomys fodiens.
Acta Theriologica 31 (9): 119-127.
Mammae are usually classified as axillary, pectoral, abdominal and
inguinal. The number of teats can vary within species and the distribution
can be asymmetric in individuals.
I am sorry, not to be able to retrieve more information at the moment,
but I hope that others will reply. W.H.
_______________________________________________________________________
7) Fish as predators on shrews
.
From: Werner Haberl - shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at
.
I recently received information on a lake trout predating on shrews
(message below).
There are a few accounts of fish predating on shrews in the literature
(below). (This is certainly interesting - or at least, it always fascinated
*me*). (If its not water shrews, how did the fish get it, or why did the
shrews enter the water?) Of course shrews are sometimes known for their
semi-aquatic habits, but...
Maybe you have heard about similar shrew/fish accounts from your colleagues;
if anyone can come up with any more information of this type, I would certainly
acknowledge this.
W.H.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 1997 09:42:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Jesse Ford <fordj@ucs.orst.edu>
.
I am not shrewly (shrewishly?) inclined, thanks, being a paleoecologist/aquatic
ecologist. Although we did find a shrew once in the stomach of a lake trout
in Alaska. (Snip) The fish species was Salvelinus namaycush, and was probably
quite large. It was taken from either Schrader or Peters lake, in the eastern
Arctic Foothills of Alaska (north slope, Brooks Range). I'll find out the
shrew species and possibly even lake trout size.
Dr. Jesse Ford Dept. Fisheries and Wildlife 104 Nash Hall Oregon State
University Corvallis, OR 97331-3803 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
References (taken from: "The Shrew Bibliography"):
.
2206 Hildebrand, H. 1949 Notes on an abundance of shrews (Sorex cinereus
cinereus) and other small mammals in the Ungava Bay region of far northern
Quebec. J. Mammalogy 30: 309-311.
2309 Huish, M.T., D.F. Hoffmeister 1947 The short-tailed shrew (Blarina)
as a source of food for the green sunfish. Copeia, Ann Arbor 3: 198.
5432 Teplov, V.P. 1943 The importance of the common shrew (Sorex araneus
L.) and some other mammals in the diet of the grayling (Thymallus thymallus
L.). Zool. Zhurn. 22 (6): 366-368.
W.H.
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o MISCELLANEOUS
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1) Request: Educational films about shrews
.
Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 17:33:57 -0500 (EST)
From: "Larry W. VanDruff" <lwvandru@mailbox.syr.edu>
.
Werner, I teach a college course entitled "the Biology of Birds
and Mammals" to about 90 students. I used to rent a 16mm film - in
the Nova series(US), I believe- entitled THE INCREDIBLE SHREW. Can you
tell me a source of this, preferably on VHS video?
Larry W. VanDruff, Ph.D. Prof. of Wildlife Ecology State Univ. of New
York College of Enviro. Sci. & Forestry Syracuse, N. Y. 13210
tele.: 315-470-6803 (+ voice mail), FAX: 315-470-6934 e-mail: lwvandru@mailbox.syr.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*Larry & others: - Sorry: I would also be interested in seeing
this or at least to get the complete reference. Does anybody know about
other shrew films? I would like to list them and possible sources on 'The
Shrew Site' for further reference. - Werner (shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at)
_______________________________________________________________________
2) Shrew Folklore, Stories and Superstition
.
From: Werner Haberl - shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at (Please forward this
query to whoever you think would be of substantial help)
.
Dear colleagues & list members,
I remember a time - that was about a year ago -, when I retrieved many
answers to my query on the simple question "what is a shrew in different
languages?" (Remember?). Once more, I would like to use this opportunity
for a query, that is rather related to the humane sciences than to natural
history:
I am currently trying to summarize what we know about shrew (Soricidae,
Insectivora, Mammalia) folklore. Many legends, myths, lores, and superstitions
exist about these fascinating animals..., some of which you will be aware
of by the introduction to P. Crowcroft's book "The Life of the Shrew".
I was wondering if anybody had any more information, references, thoughts
or stories that have hitherto been passed on from word-to-mouth. For this
reason I have also signed up to a Folklore-List and already received a
couple of threads that should be followed.
But is there anything the natural scientists want to say? Or their
grandparents, that might have stories from their forefathers/-mothers?
I am aware that I am crossing the border to the humane sciences with
this query, but the many stories that exist about shrews worldwide are
certainly interesting to get hold of. Most of them originate from Europe
or European emigrants. What about Asia and Africa?
Did you know that: o) In China the musk shrew is known as the 'money
shrew' because its chatterings are thought to resemble the jingling of
coins? o) That the folklore of Newfoundland has it that shrews are a voracious
and stubborn species? Stories have it that they will eat in a straight
line, going through whatever is in front of them using the sharp teeth
in their long snouts to cut into shoe leather, rubber tires, or whatever
else is in their way. There is the claim ( = folklore) that shrews enter
large animals like cows and caribou and moose through their anuses and
kill them from the inside out.
Please send in whatever you might know... Any stories, references,
contacts or leads you might have will be highly appreciated.
Regards, Werner
(...be sure to keep a dead shrew or at least a photo of one in your
pocket, next time you go out into the woods for field work...)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Just to get you started:
"...The temper is indoubtably the most remarkable feature of folk
opinions of the shrew. This belief is entangled in a large complex of beliefs
which are usually assigned to certain large butterfly larvae, the ones
with a hook in the rear. In the Scandinavian languages they are called
Omme, Aeve, Blaesworm, Grundorm, Kvolster and a few more names. They are
extremely poisonous; if an arm is bitten or just breathed upon it will
come off, etc. Several odd cures are told of in the sources. If a cow is
bitten in the tongue you should cut off the tip of the tongue, etc. This
whole complex of folk beliefs is attached also to the shrew (and sometimes
to the fresh water lamprey). However, it is only the shrew which was believed
to be able to do harm just by running over a foot. The making of a "shrew
ash" is also part of the complex of beliefs attached to the large
butterfly larvae; in folk beliefs these are thought to have special affinity
to ash trees; the accounts of how children died from a Blaesworm-bite often
let the beast live in ash trees. There is no similar affinity between shrews
and ashes, so the idea of "shrew ashes" may be secondary...."
(Information from L. Hemmingsen, Dept. of Folklore, Univ. of Copenhagen)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BTW: Does anybody have an *English* version of K. Lorenz, King Solomon's
Ring and could either scan & e-mail or fax me a copy of the shrew pages?
- W.H.
.
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o SHREW BIBLIOGRAPHY: New Papers
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ÒThe Shrew BibliographyÓ is a collection of more than 6000 references
to research on the biology of the Soricidae (Insectivora, Mammalia) and
small mammal ecology. More info: http://members.vienna.at/shrew/shrewbib.html
To announce your new research papers/books, please follow the instructions
(separate fields with the character "#"): Author(s)#Year#Title#Journal&Page
No.#Abstract#Keywords#Address *I* would appreciate receiving a reprint
of your paper and/or a list of your publications to add to the bibliography.
_______________________________________________________________________
1) Cawsey, P.A. 1991: Shrews on moorland
.
From: ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WALES The Welsh Mountain Zoo Colwyn Bay
Bae Colwyn North Wales Gogledd Cymru E-mail: welshmountainzoo@enterprise.net
Date: 08 - 12 - 97
.
Dear Dr. Haberl, Please find enclosed details regarding my thesis concerning
shrews on moorland. I must point out that it was for an undergraduate degree
back in 1991, and has not been published.
.
CAWSEY,P.,A., 1991, The distribution, movements and diets of shrews
inhabiting moorland. Unpublished BSc degree Thesis.
The diets and distribution of Pygmy shrews (Sorex minutus) and Common
shrews (Sorex araneus) inhabiting moorland in Northumberland were investigated
by pit fall trapping, gut analysis and vegetation surveys. The contribution
of major plant life and its structural profile was assessed to see if it
affects the distribution of the mammals. The data was taken to investigate
two main Hypotheses; 1. Vegetation influences the distribution of shrews
on moorland 2. Distribution is influenced by the diets of the shrews. In
analysing the data it was found that S minutus was more common in areas
of tall vegetation whereas S. araneus showed no marked preference for vegetation
height.. In regards to dietary analysis, twelve invertebrate taxa were
found. Similarity index was 0.65, thereby showing a slight overlap in the
diets. S. minutus also showed a preference for smaller prey items such
as Opiliones.
In summation, it seems that the spatial distribution of the two shrew
species is predominately determined by the vegetation characteristics of
the site, rather than food though no comparison with the spatial distribution
of prey was undertaken. Therefore it would not be possible to positively
state that the vegetation characteristics were more important in determining
distribution, than food availability.
References:
BUTTERFIELD,J., COULSON,J.,C. & WANLESS, S. 1981. Studies on the
distribution, food, breeding. Biology and relative abundance of the pygmy
and common shrews in upland areas of Northern England. J.Zool. 195: 169
- 180 CHINERY,M. 1986. Insects of Britain and Europe. London. Collins
CHURCHFIELD, S. 1982. Food availability and the diet of the common
shrew,,@orex araneus, in Britain. J.An. Ecol. 51: 15 - 28
CHURCHFIELD, S. & BROWN,U.,K. 1987. The trophic impact of small
mammals in successional grasslands. J.Lin Soc. 31: 273 -290
.
Yours sincerely
Paul Cawsey, BSc, PGCE Education Officer Zoological Society of Wales
_______________________________________________________________________
2) Frafjord, K. et. al. 1994 / 1995: Norwegian shrews
.
Karl Frafjord sent in reprints of 2 papers. Thank you! (WH) -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Frafjord, K., Fredriksen, T. & Langhelle, G. 1994. Regional variation
in the size of the common shrew Sorex araneus in Norway. Fauna norv. Ser.
A 15: 1-8.
We analyzed variation related to region, age, and sex in the length
and height of the mandible of the common shrew Sorex araneus in Norway
(n = 261), with some notes on the length of the tail and on the body weight.
Specimens were classified by four age groups according to their date of
capture, tooth wear, and reproductive status. Shrews from Finnmark (northernmost
Norway) were about 3 % smaller in the two mandible dimensions than shrews
from Hordaland (southern Norway), while only minor or no differences were
found between the two major samples from Hordaland. Juveniles were, on
average, 2-3 % smaller than overwintered adults. In no measurements were
males larger than females, but statistical significant sexual dimorphism
was found only in body weight. A general deterioration of the climate and
habitat quality may be found with increasing latitude, but local gradients
(e.g. lowland towards alpine regions) could be equally important for the
size of the common shrew.
.
Karl Frafjord, University of Tromso, Tromso Museum, Lars Thoringsv.
10, N-9006 Tromso, Norway. Tore Fredriksen & Gunnar Langhelle, Museum
of Zoology, University of Bergen, Musdplass 3, N-5007 Bergen, Norway.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Frafjord, K. 1995: A new record of the least shrew Sorex minutissimus
in Norway. Fauna 49: 59-6 1. (Norwegian, Engl. summary)
.
One least shrew Sorex minutissimus was caight in Dividalen, Troms county,
on 4 August, 1995. This is the first record of this species in Northern
Norway, previously only about ten specimens have been found in south Norway.
The least shrew measured 71 mm in total length and 31 mm in tail length,
weighing 1,9 g. It was caught at a humid site in birch forest, about 200
m a.s.l., representing 0,4% of the total catch of shrews in Dividalen in
1995. The trap was a wire mesh cage (Ugglan Special).
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o WHAT'S NEW ON THE SHREW (ist's) SITE?
***********************************************************************
http://members.vienna.at/shrew
o Last Update: October 1997
o Number of Visitors (Date: 14 December 1997): >5380
o Number of "Shrewists on E-mail": >169 (registered on
the website)
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1. New Shrewists on e-mail (http://members.vienna.at/shrew/shrewemail.html):
Rainer Hutterer, Chair IUCN/SSC/ITSES, Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn,
Germany
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Karl Frafjord, University of Tromso, Tromso Museum, Norway ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen D. Petersen, Field Biologist, University of Alberta Museum
of Zoology, Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------
R. Jon Planck, President, Limnoterra Limited, Ontario, Canada ----------------------------------------------------------------------
James G. MacCracken, Wildlife Biologist, Longview, Washington, USA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Monica Folk, Research Biologist, The Nature Conservancy, Florida, USA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Richard Kraft, Mammal Curator, Zoologische Staatssammlung Muenchen,
Germany ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jon Benge, Dept. of Environmental Studies, University of Hertfordshire,
UK ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Juha-Pekka Hirvi, Ecotoxicology, Finnish Environment Institute, Helsinki,
Finland ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Patricia A. Schiml, Postdoctoral Fellow, Biology Department, University
of Virginia, USA
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o SHREW TALK INSTRUCTIONS
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TO POST TO THE GROUP
All replies to the Shrew Talk inquiries should be posted to the group.
However, if you prefer to reply to someone personally, *I* would appreciate
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Reply to shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at
- include the words "Shrew Talk" in the subject line.
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==================================================================
Dr. Werner Haberl Editor, SHREW TALK (http://members.vienna.at/shrew/shrewtalk.html)
Hamburgerstr. 11, A-1050 Vienna, Austria
Email: shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at URL: http://members.vienna.at/shrew
(The Shrew (ist's) Site)
The Shrew Bibliography (> 6000 references) (available on CD ROM)
==================================================================
This web site was created by
Dr. Werner Haberl. Address: Hamburgerstrasse
11, A-1050 Vienna, Austria.
E-mail: shrewbib@sorex.vienna.at
URL: http://members.vienna.at/shrew
