Alabama beach mouse helped build the dunes that protect our coast

This is the second in a series looking at 10 of the most unusual and noteworthy endangered species in Alabama. The state is one of the most biodiverse in the nation, and today there are 131 species on the brink of disappearing.

Alabamians love their beaches, but the relationship with tiny mammals that helped make the state’s coastal ecosystems has been somewhat more complicated.

Developers initially complained about having to obtain permits from the Fish and Wildlife Service to protect a rodent, but over time the beach mouse’s role in creating one of Alabama’s favorite ecosystems has earned this tiny mammal a bit more respect.

Where do they live?

Both the Alabama beach mouse and the Perdido Key beach mouse species inhabit the oat-covered sand dunes of Alabama’s barrier islands, building burrow complexes beneath the sand. These mice are distant relatives of the common mice that enter human dwellings, instead preferring to stay in their burrows during the day and forage for food, mostly vegetation and insects.

The Alabama beach mouse was historically found throughout the dunes of Fort Morgan to Alabama Point, though its range is greatly reduced. The Perdido Key beach mouse is genetically distinct from the Alabama beach mouse but shares many of the same traits. It inhabits Perdido Key, a barrier island shared by Alabama and Florida.

How many are left?

When it was placed on the endangered species list in 1986, the Perdido Key Beach Mouse had the unfortunate distinction of being the most endangered small mammal in the United States. The population was believed to be down to just 30 individuals hanging on by a thread in just one undeveloped location on the western tip of the island, at Florida Point.

A second, reintroduced population is surviving on the east end of the island, in the Johnson Beach Unit of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

The Alabama beach mouse never reached that level of peril, but has seen dramatic reductions in population and the available dune habitat. Currently, a reintroduced population is surviving in Gulf State Park, and known populations are hanging on in Fort Morgan and the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. The Alabama beach mouse is no longer believed to inhabit areas east of Gulf State Park.

What killed them?

Development along the coast has been a major factor in the decline of the beach mice. Hurricanes are also a major factor in disrupting the populations and the extensive development makes it harder for the mice to relocate when storms change the dune landscape.

Predation by domestic cats and dogs, birds, raccoons and snakes also puts pressure on the beach mouse population.

Is it too late?

It very well may be.

Some have argued that the species are in jeopardy of total extinction if current development trends continue, and one population analysis concluded that even the largest populations of Alabama beach mouse are likely to go extinct if current trends continue.

As for the Perdido Key beach mouse, even artificial methods of boosting the population don’t always work. In the late 1980s, 15 pairs of Perdido Key mice were reintroduced to Johnson Beach, but that introduced population did not survive.

A second group of mice was introduced to Johnson Beach in 2000, and appears to be holding on, but with just two locations known to support stable populations, the margin for error is pretty thin.

The extensive development of the barrier islands appears to give the animals little or no Plan B when their existing habitat is disturbed by people, animals or storms.

What can we do?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the following steps that can be taken to help the beach mice recover:

Install snow fences to aid in rebuilding dunes.
Plant sea oats, bluestem, and other native coastal vegetation to restore dunes. Do not plant species of vegetation that are not naturally found in the coastal dunes.
Maintain habitat character during construction and land development.
Provide dune walkovers for beach access.
Control outdoor cats in beach mouse habitat.
Properly dispose of garbage in rodent-proof cans with tight-fitting lids to prevent house mice or other rodent populations from becoming established and competing with beach mice.
Avoid using poisons, snap traps, glue boards and similar techniques outdoors in beach mouse habitat.

Why should we care?

The beach mice are rarely given the credit they deserve for helping maintain Alabama’s beaches. When they carry the seeds of sea oats and other plants back to their burrows, they help spread those plants to new areas, promoting the spread of those plants, which help hold the sand in place and create the dunescapes that make great backgrounds for family photos, but also serve as a vital buffer to protect the rest of the land from everyday wind erosion and powerful tropical storms.

In areas where dune restoration work is underway people are doing by hand what the tiny beach mice did for free for thousands of years.

Even major coastal developers like Brett-Robison have come to appreciate these tiny creatures and the role they play for Alabama’s beaches, as the company expressed in a blog post titled “Why we love our Alabama beach mice.”