The Effects of Mowing on Populations of Small Mammals at Swan Lake Wildlife Management Area, Minnesota

Location

CSU 255

Start Date

26-4-2005 10:00 AM

End Date

26-4-2005 12:00 PM

Student's Major

Biological Sciences

Student's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Mentor's Name

Brock R. McMillan

Mentor's Department

Biological Sciences

Mentor's College

Science, Engineering and Technology

Description

Mowing or haying is a common land management practice in the Great Plains region. However, little is know about the effects of mowing on small mammal populations. Therefore, an experiment was designed to examine the effects of mowing on populations of small mammals at the Swan Lake Wildlife Management Area. A trapping grid comprised of 91 stations (13 stations x 7 stations) was established to sample contiguous mowed and unmowed habitat. Two large Sherman live traps were placed at each station. Traps were checked daily for five consecutive days. Species, sex, and weight were recorded for each animal that was captured. A G-test was used to statistically determine if populations were distributed randomly between the habitats at the study area. Six species of small mammals were captured. In decreasing order of abundance, the species were the northern shorttailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda; N =25), masked shrew (Sorex cinereus\N= 10), white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus; N = 6), meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus', N = 2) house mouse (Mus musculus; N =2), and ermine (Mustella erminea\N =\). There were no differences within or among populations between the two habitats examined. The results from this study are contrary to similar studies in other regions of the Great Plains. The inconsistencies are likely a result of the small scale and small sample sizes in the current study.

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Apr 26th, 10:00 AM Apr 26th, 12:00 PM

The Effects of Mowing on Populations of Small Mammals at Swan Lake Wildlife Management Area, Minnesota

CSU 255

Mowing or haying is a common land management practice in the Great Plains region. However, little is know about the effects of mowing on small mammal populations. Therefore, an experiment was designed to examine the effects of mowing on populations of small mammals at the Swan Lake Wildlife Management Area. A trapping grid comprised of 91 stations (13 stations x 7 stations) was established to sample contiguous mowed and unmowed habitat. Two large Sherman live traps were placed at each station. Traps were checked daily for five consecutive days. Species, sex, and weight were recorded for each animal that was captured. A G-test was used to statistically determine if populations were distributed randomly between the habitats at the study area. Six species of small mammals were captured. In decreasing order of abundance, the species were the northern shorttailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda; N =25), masked shrew (Sorex cinereus\N= 10), white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus; N = 6), meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus', N = 2) house mouse (Mus musculus; N =2), and ermine (Mustella erminea\N =\). There were no differences within or among populations between the two habitats examined. The results from this study are contrary to similar studies in other regions of the Great Plains. The inconsistencies are likely a result of the small scale and small sample sizes in the current study.