Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 1978

Abstract

The abundance and distribution of small mammals were analyzed for correlation with the vegetational characteris· tics of their habitat. Positive correlations were found for the number of mammals trapped per area trapped versus the total ground cover (r= .67, P< .05) and for the number of mammal species versus total ground cover (r= .73, P<.05). The habitat preferences of the three species trapped (short-tailed shrews B/,arina brevicauda. white-footed mice Peromyscus leucopuus, and meadow voles Microtus pennsylvanicus) showed a distinct distributional pattern for the species in relation to their habitats. The management of forest-tree plantations to achieve high densities during the seedling stage and the use of silvicultural practices that promote high shrub densities are suggested as inexpensive and natural control measures for injurious microtine rodents. Seedlings must be permitted to reach a sufficient height to remove the risk of the shrubs overtopping them.

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