The Santa Rosa Beach Mouse by Adam Fryska, Panhandle Trail Program Manager
A beach mouse in its natural habitat. Photo courtesy of Florida Department of Environmental Protection
DWINDLING DUNES AND MONSTER STORMS
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Threats Facing the Santa Rosa Beach Mouse
regular conversation in our community has been about how the development of Florida’s remaining rural landscapes is challenging our efforts to close the gaps in the Florida Trail (FT). It’s not just our trail corridor that’s being crowded by a loss of open spaces; numerous endangered species are threatened by habitat loss in Florida. On the other hand, it's a happy coincidence that what's good for hikers—a continuous footpath linking Florida's diverse ecosystems—is also good for wildlife. Wildlife corridors connect animal populations that would otherwise be separated by human activity, maintaining biodiversity and extending a lifeline to threatened species. Most Florida hikers have probably heard of the Eastern Indigo Snake, Gopher Tortoise, and Red-Cockaded Woodpecker. These species present inspiring success stories about conservation 32
Florida Trail Association
in Florida, and all can be encountered by hikers along the Florida Trail. But there's one diminutive threatened species that's much less known, much harder to spot, and whose habitat exists on just one barrier island: the Santa Rosa beach mouse. The oldfield mouse, Peromyscus polionotus, can be found throughout the southeastern United States. Its range stretches from the Gulf Coast to Tennessee, and along the Atlantic Coast from South Carolina to most of the Florida peninsula. However, while the species as a whole is doing well—oldfield mice are abundant in protected areas throughout their range—several taxonomically unique sub-species are threatened or critically endangered. One of these sub-species—P. p. leucocephalus, the Santa Rosa beach mouse— is only found on Santa Rosa Island in northwestern Florida. While not yet as critically FloridaTrail.org
endangered as the neighboring Perdido Key beach mouse and Choctawhatchee beach mouse, the Santa Rosa beach mouse populations are also facing an uncertain future. It may seem surprising that an animal as ubiquitous as a mouse can become threatened or endangered. But these beach mice, along with their other barrier island relatives, are specifically adapted to the challenges of life on coastal sand dunes. At a weight of just 13 grams and an average length of 3 inches, these tiny creatures dig multiple elaborate burrows among vegetated dunes, using them for shelter, nesting, and caching food. These burrows can be as long as 2-3 feet, with a large main nesting chamber and emergency escape tunnel that ends just below the surface of the sand. If a predator enters the burrow, the mouse can quickly dig its way out to safety. Burrows are usually located among
