Last summer, scientists reported finding the world’s highest-dwelling mammal, a yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse, which was seen scampering among the upper reaches of Llullaillaco, the world’s highest historically active volcano, straddling Argentina and Chile.

© NGP, Content may not reflect National Geographic’s current map policy.
It’s incredible that anything could live that high, at 20,340 feet—there is no vegetation, and seemingly nothing to eat. Here, at the edge of the Atacama Desert, there is little rain, and temperatures sometimes plunge below minus 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

“It’s hard to overstate how hostile an environment it is,” says Jay Storz, a biologist at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and a National Geographic Explorer.

Intrigued by the discovery, Storz organized an expedition to the volcano in February specifically to search for rodents. And rodents he found. In fact, he encountered another yellow-rumped mouse even higher than previously sighted, atop the very summit of Llullaillaco, at 22,110 feet—breaking the record announced just last year.

The yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus), is a known species that lives in the foothills and mountains of the Andes, and also can be found as low as sea level. (Related: Meet the animals that thrive in extreme mountain conditions.)

That means the mouse has an unprecedented elevation range of more than 22,000 feet. “That wide of a range is extraordinary,” says Scott Steppan, a mouse expert and biology professor at Florida State University. “No other species does that.”

Large-eared pikas, the previous record-holder, have been observed at 20,100 feet. There have also been sightings of yaks and blue-sheep around 20,000 feet, but this is outside of their known habitable zone. In this case of the leaf-eared mice, these individuals are thought to be part of established populations.

The discovery raises many questions. How do the mice survive at such high elevations, where it is incredibly cold and there is less than half the oxygen found at sea level? And what do they eat?

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/03/mouse-found-atop-volcano-highest-altitude-mammal/

before we read the whole article, we ask what that is in SI and leave the imperialists to their own measures

SCIENCE said:

before we read the whole article, we ask what that is in SI and leave the imperialists to their own measures

There are a couple of pictures for those text challenged.

PermeateFree said:

SCIENCE said:

before we read the whole article, we ask what that is in SI and leave the imperialists to their own measures

There are a couple of pictures for those text challenged.

Probably dropped there by a bird that was going to eat it.

Tau.Neutrino said:

PermeateFree said:

SCIENCE said:

before we read the whole article, we ask what that is in SI and leave the imperialists to their own measures

There are a couple of pictures for those text challenged.

Probably dropped there by a bird that was going to eat it.

Must be a lot of birds dropping their dinner up there if that was the case.

They mention that they caught some of them but still don’t know what they eat.

This is a bit weird. You could easily find out what their last meal is by autopsy or my analysing their stool.

dv said:

They mention that they caught some of them but still don’t know what they eat.

This is a bit weird. You could easily find out what their last meal is by autopsy or my analysing their stool.

They appear to have not thought about it.

Tau.Neutrino said:

dv said:

They mention that they caught some of them but still don’t know what they eat.

This is a bit weird. You could easily find out what their last meal is by autopsy or my analysing their stool.

They appear to have not thought about it.

Carrying a heap of traps to 22,000 feet would not be much fun, especially when they went they did not expect to find anything up there. It probably is quite difficult for people who rarely leave their homes to imagine the difficulties of some environments.

PermeateFree said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

dv said:

They mention that they caught some of them but still don’t know what they eat.

This is a bit weird. You could easily find out what their last meal is by autopsy or my analysing their stool.

They appear to have not thought about it.

Carrying a heap of traps to 22,000 feet would not be much fun, especially when they went they did not expect to find anything up there. It probably is quite difficult for people who rarely leave their homes to imagine the difficulties of some environments.

I did an art response to a PhD project once. About velvet furred rats. They had caught a number of them on Mt wellington and brought them into the lab to study. They loved the lab. They loved the diet the ethics committee decided on. Their numbers kept on improving. They were more fertile in lab conditions.

When the project finished they were packed up and shipped back on the mountain. I felt sad for them. Specially the ones born in captivity.

sarahs mum said:

PermeateFree said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

They appear to have not thought about it.

Carrying a heap of traps to 22,000 feet would not be much fun, especially when they went they did not expect to find anything up there. It probably is quite difficult for people who rarely leave their homes to imagine the difficulties of some environments.

I did an art response to a PhD project once. About velvet furred rats. They had caught a number of them on Mt wellington and brought them into the lab to study. They loved the lab. They loved the diet the ethics committee decided on. Their numbers kept on improving. They were more fertile in lab conditions.

When the project finished they were packed up and shipped back on the mountain. I felt sad for them. Specially the ones born in captivity.

It would be very hard for some. although with the non-specific diet of rats generally, they would have a better chance than most.

PermeateFree said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

dv said:

They mention that they caught some of them but still don’t know what they eat.

This is a bit weird. You could easily find out what their last meal is by autopsy or my analysing their stool.

They appear to have not thought about it.

Carrying a heap of traps to 22,000 feet would not be much fun, especially when they went they did not expect to find anything up there.

But they DID carry the traps. They caught several of the beasts in traps.

dv said:

PermeateFree said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

They appear to have not thought about it.

Carrying a heap of traps to 22,000 feet would not be much fun, especially when they went they did not expect to find anything up there.

But they DID carry the traps. They caught several of the beasts in traps.

>>The research, described in a study published this week on bioRxiv, where papers can be seen before peer review, is the beginning of a scientific quest to understand how these animals adapt to and survive such grueling conditions. The results could help us better understand how other creatures adapt to extremes, and could even have medical applications for humans coping with low levels of oxygen, for example due to disease, exertion, or altitude sickness.

Most of the mice, which belong to four different species, were caught using small traps during the expedition in February, so the animals could be further studied. But on the summit of Llullaillaco, Storz caught the mouse by hand, just as he was arriving. It was a lucky break, as you can only stay on the summit for a few minutes, due to low oxygen conditions and the possibility of violent storms.<<

PermeateFree said:

dv said:

PermeateFree said:

Carrying a heap of traps to 22,000 feet would not be much fun, especially when they went they did not expect to find anything up there.

But they DID carry the traps. They caught several of the beasts in traps.

>>The research, described in a study published this week on bioRxiv, where papers can be seen before peer review, is the beginning of a scientific quest to understand how these animals adapt to and survive such grueling conditions. The results could help us better understand how other creatures adapt to extremes, and could even have medical applications for humans coping with low levels of oxygen, for example due to disease, exertion, or altitude sickness.

Most of the mice, which belong to four different species, were caught using small traps during the expedition in February, so the animals could be further studied. But on the summit of Llullaillaco, Storz caught the mouse by hand, just as he was arriving. It was a lucky break, as you can only stay on the summit for a few minutes, due to low oxygen conditions and the possibility of violent storms.<<

Right, so you agree with me. They caught the rodents and hence now could now study their GIT contents or stool to know about their diet.

Thanks for the back up

dv said:

PermeateFree said:

dv said:

But they DID carry the traps. They caught several of the beasts in traps.

>>The research, described in a study published this week on bioRxiv, where papers can be seen before peer review, is the beginning of a scientific quest to understand how these animals adapt to and survive such grueling conditions. The results could help us better understand how other creatures adapt to extremes, and could even have medical applications for humans coping with low levels of oxygen, for example due to disease, exertion, or altitude sickness.

Most of the mice, which belong to four different species, were caught using small traps during the expedition in February, so the animals could be further studied. But on the summit of Llullaillaco, Storz caught the mouse by hand, just as he was arriving. It was a lucky break, as you can only stay on the summit for a few minutes, due to low oxygen conditions and the possibility of violent storms.<<

Right, so you agree with me. They caught the rodents and hence now could now study their GIT contents or stool to know about their diet.

Thanks for the back up

You do this every time, as soon as you are proven wrong you say thanks for agreeing with me. What a fake.

PermeateFree said:

dv said:

PermeateFree said:

>>The research, described in a study published this week on bioRxiv, where papers can be seen before peer review, is the beginning of a scientific quest to understand how these animals adapt to and survive such grueling conditions. The results could help us better understand how other creatures adapt to extremes, and could even have medical applications for humans coping with low levels of oxygen, for example due to disease, exertion, or altitude sickness.

Most of the mice, which belong to four different species, were caught using small traps during the expedition in February, so the animals could be further studied. But on the summit of Llullaillaco, Storz caught the mouse by hand, just as he was arriving. It was a lucky break, as you can only stay on the summit for a few minutes, due to low oxygen conditions and the possibility of violent storms.<<

Right, so you agree with me. They caught the rodents and hence now could now study their GIT contents or stool to know about their diet.

Thanks for the back up

You do this every time, as soon as you are proven wrong you say thanks for agreeing with me. What a fake.

Abstract
Environmental limits of animal life are invariably revised upwards when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genus Phyllotis) at a record altitude of 6205 m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes >5000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world record for mammals, far surpassing all specimen-based records from the Himalayas and elsewhere in the Andes. This discovery suggests that we may have generally underestimated the altitudinal range limits and physiological tolerances of small mammals simply because the world’s highest summits remain relatively unexplored by biologists.

SCIENCE said:

before we read the whole article, we ask what that is in SI and leave the imperialists to their own measures

In SI

Phyllotis xanthopygus occurs in South America, specifically in the Andes mountain range in Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia from sea level to 5,000 m. While the rocky habitat of the Andes provides ample cover from predators, the high elevation environments are limited in food availability therefore restricting reproduction to the warmer months. The highest elevation the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse ever was found was at the summit of Volcán Llullaillaco (6,739 m) and this is the highest altitude a mammal was ever found in nature.

It makes sense that highest ever mammal was found in the Andes, relatively close to the equator where temperatures tend to be warmer at given altitude.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.13.989822v1

“an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genus Phyllotis) at a record altitude of 6205 m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes >5000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world record for mammals, far surpassing all specimen-based records from the Himalayas and elsewhere in the Andes. This discovery suggests that we may have generally underestimated the altitudinal range limits and physiological tolerances of small mammals simply because the world’s highest summits remain relatively unexplored by biologists.”

Altitude “limits are surely dictated by food availability in addition to physiological capacities for tolerating hypoxia and extreme cold.”

“We collected specimens of 80 mice representing four species: Andean altiplano mouse (Abrothrix andina), altiplano laucha (Eligmodontia puerulus), yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus), and Lima leaf-eared mouse (P. limatus). We collected Eligmodontia puerulus and Abrothrix andina at maximum altitudes of 4099 and 4620 m, respectively. Our altitudinal records for Phyllotis limatus and P. xanthopygus (5070 and 6739 m, respectively) far exceed existing records for both species.”

“the cytochrome b haplotype of this summit specimen is identical to that of another P. x. rupestris specimen collected 180 km NNE of Volcán Llullaillaco.”

Nice, so it travels or has travelled long distances laterally as well.

“Given the exceptionally broad altitudinal range of Phyllotis xanthopygus (from sea level to 6739 m), have mice from the upper reaches of Llullaillaco evolved genetically based adaptations to hypoxia that distinguish them from lowland conspecifics? To what extent is the ability to tolerate such a broad range of environmental conditions attributable to acclimatization (physiological plasticity)? Given that mice inhabiting the upper reaches of Llullaillaco are living >2000 m above the upper limits of green plants, what are they eating?”

Could they, perchance, be eating food left over by human mountaineers?

“We captured mice using Sherman live traps; the sole exception was the specimen from the Llullaillaco summit, which was captured by hand”.

I can just imagine the excitement of that chase on the mountain top. Anyone want to turn it into a movie?

Sherman live traps…

similar to our elliot traps.

ChrispenEvan said:

Sherman live traps…

similar to our elliot traps.

I have a few, they are made of galvanised iron that are heavier than the Elliot traps, although they do make a small one to reduce weight. Good thing is the animals cannot chew their way out like they can with the aluminium Elliots.

PermeateFree said:

ChrispenEvan said:

Sherman live traps…

similar to our elliot traps.

I have a few, they are made of galvanised iron that are heavier than the Elliot traps, although they do make a small one to reduce weight. Good thing is the animals cannot chew their way out like they can with the aluminium Elliots.

I see they now make aluminium traps. Elliot traps are now very expensive, as Elliot are not selling them direct these days, which made me try the Sherman ones.

PermeateFree said:

dv said:

PermeateFree said:

>>The research, described in a study published this week on bioRxiv, where papers can be seen before peer review, is the beginning of a scientific quest to understand how these animals adapt to and survive such grueling conditions. The results could help us better understand how other creatures adapt to extremes, and could even have medical applications for humans coping with low levels of oxygen, for example due to disease, exertion, or altitude sickness.

Most of the mice, which belong to four different species, were caught using small traps during the expedition in February, so the animals could be further studied. But on the summit of Llullaillaco, Storz caught the mouse by hand, just as he was arriving. It was a lucky break, as you can only stay on the summit for a few minutes, due to low oxygen conditions and the possibility of violent storms.<<

Right, so you agree with me. They caught the rodents and hence now could now study their GIT contents or stool to know about their diet.

Thanks for the back up

You do this every time, as soon as you are proven wrong you say thanks for agreeing with me. What a fake.

Dude…

YOU do this every time. I make a statement, you purport to disagree, then you post something that supports my position.

It’s very disorienting and I don’t know what the cause is. Are you misreading what I’ve posted? Are you misreading what you’ve posted?

Someone else, anyone else… Boris. Am I going mad? Has something that PF has posted disagree with my suggesting that they could kill and check the gut contents of one of the rodents or analyse its stool to work out its diet?

dv said:

PermeateFree said:

dv said:

Right, so you agree with me. They caught the rodents and hence now could now study their GIT contents or stool to know about their diet.

Thanks for the back up

You do this every time, as soon as you are proven wrong you say thanks for agreeing with me. What a fake.

Dude…

YOU do this every time. I make a statement, you purport to disagree, then you post something that supports my position.

It’s very disorienting and I don’t know what the cause is. Are you misreading what I’ve posted? Are you misreading what you’ve posted?

Someone else, anyone else… Boris. Am I going mad? Has something that PF has posted disagree with my suggesting that they could kill and check the gut contents of one of the rodents or analyse its stool to work out its diet?

Hi, I won’t be looked at as independent but you are correct. you stated that seeing they trapped them, only one caught by hand, then getting scats or doing a dissection should reveal their diet.

I can’t see any conflict.

ChrispenEvan said:

dv said:

PermeateFree said:

You do this every time, as soon as you are proven wrong you say thanks for agreeing with me. What a fake.

Dude…

YOU do this every time. I make a statement, you purport to disagree, then you post something that supports my position.

It’s very disorienting and I don’t know what the cause is. Are you misreading what I’ve posted? Are you misreading what you’ve posted?

Someone else, anyone else… Boris. Am I going mad? Has something that PF has posted disagree with my suggesting that they could kill and check the gut contents of one of the rodents or analyse its stool to work out its diet?

Hi, I won’t be looked at as independent but you are correct. you stated that seeing they trapped them, only one caught by hand, then getting scats or doing a dissection should reveal their diet.

I can’t see any conflict.

Well we should get someone truly independent so I’ll ask Dark Orange to weigh in

dv said:

ChrispenEvan said:

dv said:

Dude…

YOU do this every time. I make a statement, you purport to disagree, then you post something that supports my position.

It’s very disorienting and I don’t know what the cause is. Are you misreading what I’ve posted? Are you misreading what you’ve posted?

Someone else, anyone else… Boris. Am I going mad? Has something that PF has posted disagree with my suggesting that they could kill and check the gut contents of one of the rodents or analyse its stool to work out its diet?

Hi, I won’t be looked at as independent but you are correct. you stated that seeing they trapped them, only one caught by hand, then getting scats or doing a dissection should reveal their diet.

I can’t see any conflict.

Well we should get someone truly independent so I’ll ask Dark Orange to weigh in

DO dictated that response to me to post.

mollwollfumble said:

SCIENCE said:

before we read the whole article, we ask what that is in SI and leave the imperialists to their own measures

In SI

Phyllotis xanthopygus occurs in South America, specifically in the Andes mountain range in Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia from sea level to 5,000 m. While the rocky habitat of the Andes provides ample cover from predators, the high elevation environments are limited in food availability therefore restricting reproduction to the warmer months. The highest elevation the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse ever was found was at the summit of Volcán Llullaillaco (6,739 m) and this is the highest altitude a mammal was ever found in nature.

It makes sense that highest ever mammal was found in the Andes, relatively close to the equator where temperatures tend to be warmer at given altitude.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.13.989822v1

“an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genus Phyllotis) at a record altitude of 6205 m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes >5000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world record for mammals, far surpassing all specimen-based records from the Himalayas and elsewhere in the Andes. This discovery suggests that we may have generally underestimated the altitudinal range limits and physiological tolerances of small mammals simply because the world’s highest summits remain relatively unexplored by biologists.”

Altitude “limits are surely dictated by food availability in addition to physiological capacities for tolerating hypoxia and extreme cold.”

“We collected specimens of 80 mice representing four species: Andean altiplano mouse (Abrothrix andina), altiplano laucha (Eligmodontia puerulus), yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus), and Lima leaf-eared mouse (P. limatus). We collected Eligmodontia puerulus and Abrothrix andina at maximum altitudes of 4099 and 4620 m, respectively. Our altitudinal records for Phyllotis limatus and P. xanthopygus (5070 and 6739 m, respectively) far exceed existing records for both species.”

“the cytochrome b haplotype of this summit specimen is identical to that of another P. x. rupestris specimen collected 180 km NNE of Volcán Llullaillaco.”

Nice, so it travels or has travelled long distances laterally as well.

“Given the exceptionally broad altitudinal range of Phyllotis xanthopygus (from sea level to 6739 m), have mice from the upper reaches of Llullaillaco evolved genetically based adaptations to hypoxia that distinguish them from lowland conspecifics? To what extent is the ability to tolerate such a broad range of environmental conditions attributable to acclimatization (physiological plasticity)? Given that mice inhabiting the upper reaches of Llullaillaco are living >2000 m above the upper limits of green plants, what are they eating?”

Could they, perchance, be eating food left over by human mountaineers?

“We captured mice using Sherman live traps; the sole exception was the specimen from the Llullaillaco summit, which was captured by hand”.

I can just imagine the excitement of that chase on the mountain top. Anyone want to turn it into a movie?

thanks

and

you mean the actual researcher article was in SI, and these jokers …

ok fine

ChrispenEvan said:

dv said:

ChrispenEvan said:

Hi, I won’t be looked at as independent but you are correct. you stated that seeing they trapped them, only one caught by hand, then getting scats or doing a dissection should reveal their diet.

I can’t see any conflict.

Well we should get someone truly independent so I’ll ask Dark Orange to weigh in

DO dictated that response to me to post.

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

Looking at the original paper, they apparently didn’t bother analysing gut contents and are leaving that to future explorers.

Maybe they didn’t have enough time, resources or interest.

dv said:

PermeateFree said:

dv said:

Right, so you agree with me. They caught the rodents and hence now could now study their GIT contents or stool to know about their diet.

Thanks for the back up

You do this every time, as soon as you are proven wrong you say thanks for agreeing with me. What a fake.

Dude…

YOU do this every time. I make a statement, you purport to disagree, then you post something that supports my position.

It’s very disorienting and I don’t know what the cause is. Are you misreading what I’ve posted? Are you misreading what you’ve posted?

Someone else, anyone else… Boris. Am I going mad? Has something that PF has posted disagree with my suggesting that they could kill and check the gut contents of one of the rodents or analyse its stool to work out its diet?

You are pathetic.

ChrispenEvan said:

dv said:

PermeateFree said:

You do this every time, as soon as you are proven wrong you say thanks for agreeing with me. What a fake.

Dude…

YOU do this every time. I make a statement, you purport to disagree, then you post something that supports my position.

It’s very disorienting and I don’t know what the cause is. Are you misreading what I’ve posted? Are you misreading what you’ve posted?

Someone else, anyone else… Boris. Am I going mad? Has something that PF has posted disagree with my suggesting that they could kill and check the gut contents of one of the rodents or analyse its stool to work out its diet?

Hi, I won’t be looked at as independent but you are correct. you stated that seeing they trapped them, only one caught by hand, then getting scats or doing a dissection should reveal their diet.

I can’t see any conflict.

They trapped around 5000 metres altitude over 1000 metres below the volcanic top where conditions would not have been as extreme, plus it was stated that there was no vegetation at the higher altitude.

I’ve contacted the author. I find researchers are usually happy to take a little time to answer questions. I know I was.

all except one were caught in traps. They live trapped the summit 6739m. The Museum voucher ones would most likely be dissected, some at least.

This sighting motivated our subsequent high-altitude trapping expedition in February 2020. During the course of this expedition, we live-trapped rodents from ecologically diverse sites on the altiplano and puna spanning >4300 m of
vertical relief (Fig. 1, Supplementary Table 1). On Volcán Llullaillaco (Fig. 2), we live-trapped rodents in
and around Aguadas de Zorritas (4140-4360 m), base camp – Ruta Normal (4620 m), base camp – Ruta
Sur (5070 m), high camp – Ruta Sur (5850 m), and the volcano summit (6739 m). In total, we collected
museum voucher specimens of 80 mice representing four species: Andean altiplano mouse (Abrothrix
andina), altiplano laucha (Eligmodontia puerulus), yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis
xanthopygus), and Lima leaf-eared mouse (P. limatus). We collected Eligmodontia puerulus and
Abrothrix andina at maximum altitudes of 4099 and 4620 m, respectively; these altitudes approximate or
exceed previous records for these species 15-16. Our altitudinal records for Phyllotis limatus and P.
xanthopygus (5070 and 6739 m, respectively) far exceed existing records for both species

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.13.989822v1

DL the PDF.

dv said:

I’ve contacted the author. I find researchers are usually happy to take a little time to answer questions. I know I was.

And for your information, so was I.

ChrispenEvan said:

all except one were caught in traps. They live trapped the summit 6739m. The Museum voucher ones would most likely be dissected, some at least.

This sighting motivated our subsequent high-altitude trapping expedition in February 2020. During the course of this expedition, we live-trapped rodents from ecologically diverse sites on the altiplano and puna spanning >4300 m of
vertical relief (Fig. 1, Supplementary Table 1). On Volcán Llullaillaco (Fig. 2), we live-trapped rodents in
and around Aguadas de Zorritas (4140-4360 m), base camp – Ruta Normal (4620 m), base camp – Ruta
Sur (5070 m), high camp – Ruta Sur (5850 m), and the volcano summit (6739 m). In total, we collected
museum voucher specimens of 80 mice representing four species: Andean altiplano mouse (Abrothrix
andina), altiplano laucha (Eligmodontia puerulus), yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis
xanthopygus), and Lima leaf-eared mouse (P. limatus). We collected Eligmodontia puerulus and
Abrothrix andina at maximum altitudes of 4099 and 4620 m, respectively; these altitudes approximate or
exceed previous records for these species 15-16. Our altitudinal records for Phyllotis limatus and P.
xanthopygus (5070 and 6739 m, respectively) far exceed existing records for both species

Catching a mouse by hand is Live Trapping and you still have around 1000 metres difference in altitude, which in those conditions make a very large difference.

ChrispenEvan said:

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.13.989822v1

DL the PDF.

Yeah I’ve read it through. I was surprised at their claim that this was 2000 m above the green plant line, which seems to rely on a narrow defn of green plants.

dv said:

ChrispenEvan said:

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.13.989822v1

DL the PDF.

Yeah I’ve read it through. I was surprised at their claim that this was 2000 m above the green plant line, which seems to rely on a narrow defn of green plants.

I wonder what they used as bait in the traps.

ChrispenEvan said:

dv said:

ChrispenEvan said:

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.13.989822v1

DL the PDF.

Yeah I’ve read it through. I was surprised at their claim that this was 2000 m above the green plant line, which seems to rely on a narrow defn of green plants.

I wonder what they used as bait in the traps.

Peanuts are favoured in all habitats where none are grown. I just use it on its own and smear it on the surface above the pressure floor that operates to locking door. Works exceptionally well as even small animals will try to reach it and set the trap off. However not very good where you need to pack the traps to move or store them.

PermeateFree said:

ChrispenEvan said:

dv said:

Yeah I’ve read it through. I was surprised at their claim that this was 2000 m above the green plant line, which seems to rely on a narrow defn of green plants.

I wonder what they used as bait in the traps.

Peanuts are favoured in all habitats where none are grown. I just use it on its own and smear it on the surface above the pressure floor that operates to locking door. Works exceptionally well as even small animals will try to reach it and set the trap off. However not very good where you need to pack the traps to move or store them.

Bacon works better than peanut butter.

sarahs mum said:

PermeateFree said:

ChrispenEvan said:

I wonder what they used as bait in the traps.

Peanuts are favoured in all habitats where none are grown. I just use it on its own and smear it on the surface above the pressure floor that operates to locking door. Works exceptionally well as even small animals will try to reach it and set the trap off. However not very good where you need to pack the traps to move or store them.

Bacon works better than peanut butter.

Suppose it has the strong aroma too, but never tried it myself as peanut butter is much easier to use.

Thanks for reminding me. I need to reset the mousetraps. We aren’t catching very well with the old bits of cheese on them at the moment. I’ll put some peanut butter on for tonight. The little buggers (and by the size of the poo, they must be little ones) had a nibble on the loaf of bread we forgot to put into the microwave overnight last night.