Researchers at Monmouth University in New Jersey want your mice for a study of the genetic and microbiome differences between mice in urban versus rural settings.
Although house mice (Mus musculus) stick pretty close to humans wherever they live, the ones in cities might have different diets or territory sizes from their country cousins, according to Dr. Maddie Balman, a biologist working on the study.
The researchers will catch the mice using live traps* at city and country sites into October this year, as well as spring and summer next year. If you would like to help out by hosting a trap, email wewantmice@gmail.com.
*The mice won’t make it back, but they will be studied extensively before they land in museum collections so that future researchers can learn from them as well.
