USE OF NIGHT-VISION GOGGLES, LIGHT-TAGS, AND FLUORESCENT POWDER FOR MEASURING MICROHABITAT USE OF NOCTURNAL SMALL MAMMALS

Abstract

In 1993 to 1996, dusky-footed woodrats (Neotoma fuscipes) were tracked using night-vision goggles, hght-tags (LED with battery), and fluorescent powder to better understand their microhabitat use. Traclung was conducted in 3 oak woodland study sites in the southern Sierra Nevada, 16 m northeast of Fresno, California. Nightvision goggles were not very useful for direct observation because of their limitedvisual range. Light-tags were highly visible and provided both temporal and spatial information on microhabitat use. Times and durations of activities could not be determined using fluorescent powder, and due to its poor adherence to thin branches, it provided limited information on the woodrats' microhabitat locations. However, combining powder traclung data with light-tag tracking data provided detailed information on the dusky-footed woodrat's 3-d~mensional use of oak woodlands.

Citation

LAUDENSLAYER, WILLIAM F.; FARGO, ROBERTA J. 1997. USE OF NIGHT-VISION GOGGLES, LIGHT-TAGS, AND FLUORESCENT POWDER FOR MEASURING MICROHABITAT USE OF NOCTURNAL SMALL MAMMALS. 1997 TRANSACTIONS OF THE WESTERN SECTION OF THE WILDLIFE SOCIETY 33: 72- 17