| Captive breeding and reintroduction programs can be challenged by a limited knowledge of the nutritional ecology of the target species. This limited knowledge can sometimes result in an animal developing a preference for captive diets and an inability to effectively forage after it is released. Additionally, historic landscapes are changing due to the pervasiveness of invasive species that threaten to replace native food sources. A novel management strategy to counteract these two factors is to expand the diet of a target species to include palatable and nutritious invasive species, thereby increasing the foraging options of target species upon release and decreasing the spread of invasive species being consumed. Using the captive breeding program for the endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus), I am experimentally determining if historic exposure, exposure during early developmental periods, and nutritional quality of two invasive plants, Erodium botrys and Bromus madritensis ssp. rubens, influence foraging preferences of Pacific pocket mouse. Preferences are tested using the standard Cafeteria Method design and the nutritional quality of seeds is determined with near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis. This study will impact nutritional protocol and foraging training of Pacific pocket mice, and insights from this management strategy may be applied to other captive breeding programs with a similar conflict. |