Endogone--Food for Mice

Abstract

Analysis of the contents of the digestive tracts of 450 mice trapped from 1955 to 1961 in a number of localities in northwestern Wyoming and north-central Colorado revealed 38% of the animals eating a hypogeous phycomycete, Endogone. The frequency of utilization was essentially the same for all species studied: Peromyscus maniculatus, Microtus longicaudus, Clethrionomys gapperi, Phenacomys intermedius and Zapus princeps. Consumption of the fungus appeared to be influenced by the season, the character and condition of the habitat and the availability of other foods. A comparison of data from stomach and cecal analyses suggests that stomach analyses alone provide a too conservative estimate of the frequency of utilization, but no dependable volumetric estimates of the amount of Endogone consumed can be made solely from cecal analyses.