TRAP-REVEALED MICROHABITAT USE BY SMALL MAMMALS IN MONOCULTURE GRASSLANDS

摘要

This study was conducted to determine if microhabitat differences in canopy cover of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) monoculture grasslands influenced presence of small mammals. Canopy cover of weeping lovegrass was measured at 12 trapping grids of 100 traps each. Traps were pooled and separated into four categories (0 to 25/100, 26 to 50/100, 51 to 75/100 and 76 to 100/100) based on percentage of weeping lovegrass canopy cover at each trap location. First captures of small mammals were analyzed using the chi square test statistic. Four species, cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus; n=100), western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis; n=173), hispid pocket mouse (Chaetodipus hispidus; n=28), and deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus; n=41) were captured in sufficient numbers for statistical comparison.