Short-tailed shrew

Proximity to the smokestacks of metal smelters is positively associated with increased levels of lead in the hair (manes) of horses and in tissues of small mammals, and is consistent with the results of soil and vegetation analyses (USEPA 1972). Lead concentrations were comparatively high in the hair of older or chronically impaired horses (USEPA 1972). However, tissues of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) collected near a zinc smelter did not contain elevated levels of lead (Sileo and Beyer 1985). Among small mammals near a metal smelter, blood ALAD activity was reduced in the white-footed mouse but normal in others, e.g., the short-tailed shrew (Beyer et al. 1985). The interaction effects of lead components in smelter emissions with other components, such as zinc, cadmium, and arsenic, are unresolved (USEPA 1972) and warrant additional research. 

Short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda Carcass ... 

Short tail shrew, Blarina brevicauda-, kidney 39 FW vs. 1 FW 170... 

Short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda 7.8 Gy, single acute exposure Cow, Bos sp. LD50, 30 days postexposure 1... 

Meadow vole Microtus Short-tailed shrew Blmina brevicauda Soiled enclosure Avoidance Fulk, 1971... 

Fulk, G. W. (1971). The Behavioral interactions of the Short-tailed Shrew and the Meadow Vole. Kingston, RI University of Rhode Island. 

Kita, M., Nakamura, Y., Okumura, Y., et al. (2004). Blarinatoxin, a mammalian lethal venom from the short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda isolation and characterization. Proceedings oftheNational Academy of Science oftheUSA 101,7542-7547. 

Tomasi, T. E. (1978). Function of venom in the short-tailed shrew, Blarina hrevicauda. Journal ofMammalogy 60,751-759. 

Common shrew, Sorex araneus, 27, 92, 552 Short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda, 387 Sorex spp., 27, 92, 552, 585 Skunk... 

Because insectivores possess many plesiomorphic traits and are nocturnal, a number of studies have centered around the premise that olfaction is the sense that most characterizes Insectivora (Larochelle and Baron, 1989). Thus, olfactory structures, like the main olfactory bulbs, should be proportionately larger and are used as a basis of comparison to mammalian orders that might be expected to show a reduction in olfaction in favor of some other sense (e.g., vision in primates or echolocation in vespertilionid chiropterans Stephan, 1985 Frahm, 1985 Stephan, et al., 1988). We compared the olfactory system of short-tailed shrews Blarina brevicaudd) to white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus. Order Rodentia), another macrosmatic species of similar size but very distantly related to shrews. 

Figure 1. Tracings of the chemosensory epithelium from longitudinal sections (as if looking down into the nasal cavity) of the left nasal cavities of (A) short-tailed shrew and (B) white-footed mouse. The arrow designates the position of the medium septum. At this level, all of the surfaces of the turbinates are covered by chemosensory epithelium, thus, these line drawings represent extent of turbinates and of chemosensory epithelia. Posterior is at the top of the fig-...

Figure 2. Comparison of total chemosensory epithelial volume (olfactory plus vomeronasal) plotted against total body lengths (minus the tail) for white-footed mice, short-tailed shrews, and Plethodontid salamanders. Whitefooted mice are represented by open circles with dot, short-tailed shrews by open squares, and salamanders by filled circles Desmognathns wrighti), filled triangles Desmognathus quadramaculatus), and filled diamonds Plethodon glutinosus).

Table 1. Chemosensory epithelial cell density (cells/mm ) for red-backed salamanders, short-tailed shrews, and white-footed mice...

For further comparison, we included data points (again, combined olfactory and vomeronasal volume, equaling a total chemosensory epithelial volume) for three species of closely related, mainly terrestrial salamanders (family Plethodontidae). Salamanders have no turbinates and the chemosensory epithelium of terrestrial species is arranged in flat sheets. Not surprisingly, chemoreceptor epithelial volume is considerably less in salamanders than in mammals (ANOVA of multiple regression, P =0.0001). In addition, the slope for the salamander line is considerably flatter than for white-footed mice, but not for short-tailed shrews, indicating less variation in chemosensory epithelial volume that is explained by variation in body size. 

The morphometry of the olfactory epithelium of several species of shrews (within the subfamilies Soricinae and Crocidurinae) varies with subfamily and according to niche the species occupies (Larochelle and Baron, 1989). Terrestrial Soricinae, like short-tailed... 

Platt, W.J. 1976. The social organization and territoriality of short-tailed shrew Blarina brevicauda) populations in old-field habitats. Anim. Behav., 24 305—318. 

It may be hypothesized that the odor of shrews, moles and moonrats is a deterrent to some mammalian predators. Scott and Klimstra (1955), for example, concluded that moles (Scalopus aquaticus) and short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda) were low on the scale of red fox food preferences because captured insectivores were often left uneaten. Shrews release a strong musky scent when disturbed (see Dryden and Conaway, 1967), but the role of scent as an anti-predator ploy is unknown. The deterrent effect of the shrew s scent does not appear to operate until the animal is captured and killed, and so it may be argued that the odor does not prevent predation, On the other hand, prudent predators" may learn to avoid hunting prey which are not edible. Challenging experiments will be required to determine whether red foxes and other carnivores become conditioned to modify their search image for insectivore prey such as moles and shrews. 

Pearson, 0. P., 1946, Scent glands of the short-tailed shrew, Anat. Rec., 94 615. 

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