Animal
White-footed mouse
Peromyscus leucopus
A small native mouse — the most-common woodland rodent in eastern North America — and the principal reservoir host for *Borrelia burgdorferi*, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Common across Staten Island's Greenbelt and forested-edge habitats. The species' role in the Lyme-disease ecological cycle makes it disproportionately consequential for human public health on the borough.
Scientific
Peromyscus leucopus is a 0.5–1 oz native mouse — distinguished from house mice (Mus musculus, introduced) by larger eyes, white belly, white feet, and a sharply bicolored tail. Native to eastern hardwood and mixed forests. Diet: seeds, nuts, insects, fruit. Multiple litters per year; population cycles tied to acorn-mast availability.
The species is the principal reservoir host for Borrelia burgdorferi in the Northeast. Larval and nymphal blacklegged ticks feeding on infected mice acquire the bacterium and transmit it to subsequent hosts — including humans. Mouse population dynamics directly drive Lyme-incidence dynamics: high-mast years produce high mouse populations, which produce high tick infections, which produce high human Lyme cases approximately two years later.
On Staten Island
Common across the Greenbelt and forested-edge habitats. The species itself is rarely seen by casual observers (nocturnal, secretive) but it is one of the most-numerous mammals on the borough by population. Its ecological consequence (Lyme reservoir) makes it the most-consequential rodent for human health on the borough.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Substrate of: [[blacklegged-tick]]
- Counterpart to: [[virginia-opossum]]
- Member of: [[animal]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies long-term Lyme-disease ecology research (Ostfeld, Keesing)
- [[beacon-ny|New York]] State DEC mammal records
- Long-term Peromyscus mouse-acorn-tick-Lyme cycle literature
Rooted in life.
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