Preview
Document Type
Graduate Research
Creation Date
Spring 4-8-2015
Department
Biology
Abstract
Small mammals, orders Rodentia and Soricomorpha, play an important role in nature as prey, predators, seed dispersers and even as nuisance species causing losses to agriculture. These species are distributed throughout the United States, and it is important to study them due to their ecological and economic importance. The aim of this study is to identify small mammal species in 20 different mined-land wildlife areas in Crawford and Cherokee Counties, in Southeast Kansas. Three different habitats were trapped in each area: grassy, brushy and forested. A line of 200 snap traps was set in each habitat, for three consecutive days. Sampling was held seasonally in 2014 (winter, spring, summer, and fall). A total of 12 species was collected: Elliot’s short-tailed shrew (Blarina hylophaga), North American least shrew (Cryptotis parva), prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), pine vole (Microtus pinetorum), house mouse (Mus musculus), Eastern woodrat (Neotoma jloridana), white footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus), deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), fulvous harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys fulvescens), plains harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys montanus), hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) and meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius). The grassy habitat was the most productive in richness and abundance of species, where all 12 species were caught totally 660 specimens. The second most productive habitat was the brushy habitat, with 10 out o12 species and 483 specimens, being North American least shrew and fulvous harvest mouse the species not represented. The least productive habitat was forested habitat in which only 8 species were represented and 209 specimens were caught, being North American least shrew, house mouse, plains harvest mouse and meadow jumping mouse the species not represented. Grassland habitat is the richest and most abundant among the three habitats studied, possibly due to the increased amount of shelter and food available.
