Small mammal communities in a pyrogenic habitat mosaic

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl W. Larsen ◽  
Ian T. Adams ◽  
Diane L. Haughland
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammal ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Habitat Mosaic ◽  
Small Mammal Community ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
Mammal Communities

We studied the small mammal community across a mosaic of habitats created by a large wildfire in the mixed-wood boreal forest of Alberta, Canada, 5 years after the fire occurred. We focussed on four habitat types within this landscape mosaic, namely burnt stands, stands of unburnt forest within the burn, unburnt forest on the periphery of the fire, and areas harvested before the fire (and subsequently burnt). The abundance of the two most common species – red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) – often differed inside v. outside the burn’s perimeter; however, reproduction, survival and abundance showed little to no correlation with habitat. Year-to-year changes in the relative abundance of these two species appeared greater within the burn’s periphery; the heterogeneity of the burnt landscape also supported a higher diversity of small mammal species than seen at the periphery. Comparison of our results with those collected by a coincidental study of forest harvesting suggests that the responses of the communities and populations of the animals to the two disturbance types were relatively similar. The value of long-term and chronosequence studies notwithstanding, detailed study of the wildlife communities shaped by individual wildfires improves our overall understanding of the ecological effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances.

scholarly journals Predicting the Effects of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid on Microhabitat Structure and Small Mammal Communities

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyson L. Degrassi
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
Microhabitat Structure ◽  
Mammal Communities

AbstractHemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) invasion and preemptive logging practices alter the habitat structure of New England forests and may indirectly affect associated small mammal communities. Microhabitat structure was measured and small mammals were censused in eight large experimental plots to quantify and predict these effects. The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research experiment is a replicated two-block design that includes four 0.81-ha canopy treatments: 1) Hemlock Control, 2) Hardwood Control, 3) Girdled Treatment, in which hemlock trees were killed by girdling in 2005 and left standing to simulate HWA invasion, and 4) Logged Treatment, in which trees were removed to simulate preemptive logging management practices. Nine microhabitat characteristics were measured from plot photos revealing differences among microhabitat structure. Small mammals were censused with arrays of 49 Sherman traps per plot and population sizes of common species were estimated with mark-recapture analysis. Between 6 and 8 mammal species were recorded in all treatments and species composition varied slightly. Populations of two common rodents (Peromyscus spp.) were not affected by treatment, but the southern red-backed vole population was greatest in the Girdled treatment. Estimated species richness was greater in the Girdled treatment than the Hemlock control, but richness did not differ between Girdled and Logged treatments, which suggests preemptive logging is as detrimental to some small mammal species as HWA invasion. Overall, nine years post disturbance, there is little evidence of a major shift in small mammal community structure in response to woolly adelgid invasion, with only minor changes in relative abundance.

Changes in small mammal communities after logging in north-central Ontario

1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 970-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur M. Martell
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Vegetative Cover ◽  
North Central ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Small Mammal Community ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
Mammal Community ◽  
Mammal Communities

Changes in small mammal communities following logging were monitored in clear-cut and strip-cut upland black spruce (Picea mariana) stands and in selectively cut mixed wood stands in north-central Ontario. Clear-cutting and subsequent scarification essentially eliminated the vegetative cover. Much of the ground cover recovered within 5 years and shrubs within 12 years, but mosses and lichens took much longer. The small mammal community in both clear-cut and strip-cut stands changed over the first three years after logging from one dominated by southern red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) to one dominated by deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and then remained relatively stable for up to 13 years after harvest. That shift was not apparent in selectively cut mixed wood stands where the composition of the small mammal community was similar between uncut stands and stands 4–23 years after harvest. There was relatively little change in total numbers of small mammals after logging. In general, the diversity and evenness of small mammals increased or remained stable in the first 1–3 years following harvest, decreased on older (3–16 years) cuts, and then increased to values similar to those in uncut stands on the oldest (19–23 years) cuts.

scholarly journals The dead do not lie: using skeletal remains for rapid assessment of historical small-mammal community baselines

2009 ◽  
Vol 277 (1685) ◽  
pp. 1193-1201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca C. Terry
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Skeletal Remains ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Baseline Shift ◽  
Small Mammal Community ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
Mammal Community ◽  
Mammal Communities

Conservation and restoration efforts are often hindered by a lack of historical baselines that pre-date intense anthropogenic environmental change. In this paper I document that natural accumulations of skeletal remains represent a potential source of high-quality data on the historical composition and structure of small-mammal communities. I do so by assessing the fidelity of modern, decadal and centennial-scale time-averaged samples of skeletal remains (concentrated by raptor predation) to the living small-mammal communities from which they are derived. To test the power of skeletal remains to reveal baseline shifts, I employ the design of a natural experiment, comparing two taphonomically similar Great Basin cave localities in areas where anthropogenic land-use practices have diverged within the last century. I find relative stasis at the undisturbed site, but document rapid restructuring of the small-mammal community at the site subjected to recent disturbance. I independently validate this result using historical trapping records to show that dead remains accurately capture both the magnitude and direction of this baseline shift. Surveys of skeletal remains therefore provide a simple, powerful and rapid alternative approach for gaining insight into the historical structure and dynamics of modern small-mammal communities.

Revisiting the late Pleistocene mammal extinction record at Tight Entrance Cave, southwestern Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Tyler Faith ◽  
James F. O'Connell
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Large Mammal ◽  
Southwestern Australia ◽  
Drying Trend ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
Mammal Communities

AbstractTight Entrance Cave (TEC) in southwestern Australia provides a Pleistocene sequence documenting the extinction of 14 large mammal species. This record has been interpreted as indicating that extinctions did not occur during or before the penultimate glacial maximum (PGM) and that humans played a primary role in the extinctions. However, it remains possible that the majority of extinct megafauna persisted no later than the PGM. The TEC extinctions correspond with vegetation change, a cooling/drying trend, increased biomass burning, and increasingly unstable small mammal communities. The initiation of these trends predates human arrival on the continent and implies environmentally mediated extinctions.

scholarly journals Mow the Grass at the Mouse’s Peril: Diversity of Small Mammals in Commercial Fruit Farms

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linas Balčiauskas ◽  
Laima Balčiauskienė ◽  
Vitalijus Stirkė
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Plant Protection ◽  
Common Vole ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
The Common ◽  
Mammal Communities ◽  
Mammal Diversity

Small mammals are not only pests but also an important part of agricultural ecosystems. The common vole is a reference species for risk assessment of plant protection products in the European Union, but no data about the suitability of the species in the Baltic countries are present so far. Using the snap-trap line method, we evaluated species composition, abundance, and diversity of small mammal communities in commercial orchards and berry plantations in Lithuania, testing the predictions that (i) compared with other habitats, small mammal diversity in fruit farms is low, and (ii) the common vole is the dominant species. The diversity of small mammals was compared with control habitats and the results of investigations in other habitats. Out of ten small mammal species registered, the most dominant were common vole and striped field mouse. Small mammal diversity and abundance increased in autumn and decreased in line with the intensity of agricultural practices but were not dependent on crop type. In the most intensively cultivated fruit farms, small mammals were not found. The diversity of small mammal communities in fruit farms was significantly higher than in crop fields and exceeded the diversities found in most types of forests except those in rapid succession.

scholarly journals Biotic and abiotic correlates of small mammal community structure in the Groendal Wilderness Area, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Koedoe ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L.M. Els ◽  
G.I.H. Kerley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Wilderness Area ◽  
Small Mammal Community ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
Mammal Community ◽  
Mammal Communities

We investigated the relations between environmental features (biotic and abiotic) and small mammal communities in the Groendal Wilderness Area, South Africa. Habitat architecture (expressed as both horizontal and vertical foliage density) and total plant canopy cover (especially shrub canopy cover) are the most important correlates of small mammal community structure at this site. The mechanisms for these relationships are complex, probably involving physiological, social and anti-predator effects as well as reflecting nutritional resources. Furthermore, man and fire influence small mammal community structure. These effects are as a result of altered plant community composition and structure by plantation and pasture establishment and burning. In order to maintain a diversity of small mammal communities, management should ensure a mosaic of diverse vegetation communities.

scholarly journals Changes within Small Mammal Communities since the 1988 Huckleberry Mountain Fire

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 19-27
Author(s):  
M. Burt ◽  
R. Seville ◽  
Zachary Roehrs ◽  
Rachel Henley
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammal ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Diversity Indices ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Pocket Gopher ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Sorex Cinereus ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
Mammal Communities ◽  
Over Time

This study is a continuation of investigations conducted at Huckleberry Mountain to determine the effect of the 1988 Greater Yellowstone fire on the small mammal community, and document changes in this community over the 22 years since this natural disturbance. Previous research was conducted in 1993, 1994, 1997, and 1998 and we sampled the same communities in 2009 and again in 2010 using the identical sampling methodology. During the summer of 2010 we live trapped 252 Southern Red-backed Vole (Myodes gapperi), 57 North American Deermouse (Peromyscus maniculatu), 22 Least Chipmunk (Tamias minimus), 12 Western Jumping Mouse (Zapus princeps), four Montane Vole (Microtus montanus), one Northern Pocket Gopher (Thomomys talpoides), four Cinereus Shrew (Sorex cinereus), and five Dusky Shrew (S. monticolus). These results are similar to our results from 2009 and corroborate findings from other investigations indicating early dominance of P. maniculatus in burned forests and M. gapperi in control unburned areas. M. gapperi and P. maniculatus accounted for the majority (87%) of captures. In addition more M. gapperi were found in control sites than P. maniculatus, and as the burned habitat recovers over time, the relative numbers of P. maniculatus are decreasing, and the number of M. gapperi are increasing, suggesting that the burned habitats are returning to a more natural pre-disturbance community structure. However, community diversity indices (which include all mammal species and their relative proportions) suggest that there are still considerable differences between burned and unburned sites. Despite the numbers of voles and deermice changing over time (as predicted), the burned and control small mammal communities are still quite different from one another even after 22 years.

scholarly journals Large-scale spatial patterns of small-mammal communities in the Mediterranean region revealed by Barn owl diet

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Riegert ◽  
Jiří Šindelář ◽  
Markéta Zárybnická ◽  
Ivan Horáček
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammal ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Island Area ◽  
Small Mammal Community ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Mammal Communities

AbstractDue to mainly opportunistic hunting behaviour of Barn owl can be its diet composition used for assessing local structure of small-mammal community. We evaluated the structure of small-mammal communities in the Mediterranean region by analysing Barn owl diet using own pellets and literature data (85 localities comprising 182,343 prey individuals). Contrary to widely accepted macroecological theory, we found a latitudinal increase of small-mammal alpha diversity, a less distinct west–east increase and lower diversity on islands. The mean prey weight decreased with increasing latitude, while on islands it decreased with increasing island area. The mean prey weight on islands was further negatively affected by mean land modification by human and positively affected by its range. The diet diversity on islands was not affected either by island area or its distance from the mainland. Its composition largely conformed to the main pattern pronounced over whole the region: an unexpected homogeneity of small-mammal community structure. Despite high beta diversity and large between-sample variation in species composition, Crocidura (+ Suncus etruscus) and murids (Apodemus, Mus, Rattus, in marginal regions partly replaced by gerbillids, Meriones or Microtus) composed more than 90% of owl prey in 92% of samples. Peak abundances of these widespread species are associated with a dynamic mosaic of dense patches of sparse herb vegetation and evergreen sclerophyllous shrublands interspersing areas of human activity, the dominant habitat of the inner Mediterranean and richest food resource for foraging Barn owls. The respective small-mammal species can be looked upon as invasive elements accompanying large scale human colonization of the region since the Neolithic and replacing original island biota. Our study documented that desertification of the Mediterranean played an important role in shaping inverse latitudinal gradient in diversity of small-mammals that contradicts to widely accepted mecroecological theory.

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