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Abstract
Small mammals are important components of woodlands and forests. Since 1992, we have been studying several aspects of small mammal ecology in oak woodlands in western foothills of the southern Sierra Nevada. Assemblages of small, nocturnal mammal species are dominated by the brush mouse (
Peromyscus boylii), California mouse (
P. californicus), and dusky-footed woodrat (
Neotoma fuscipes). Brush mice and California mice were found in highest numbers on sites with the densest vegetative cover. Populations of both species generally appeared to decline over the 4 years of study. Dusky-footed woodrats in our study sites were arboreal and often used specific travel paths to move about their home ranges. These behaviors made them difficult to capture with standard trapping grids, and we found that capture success was increased markedly by placing traps near their houses, either on the ground or in trees. Woodrats on our sites constructed several kinds of houses—some of which were difficult to detect—and house use was difficult to detect. We did not find a close correspondence between the numbers of woodrats and the numbers of their houses.
Parent Publication
Citation
Laudenslayer, William F. Jr.; Fargo, Roberta J. 2002. Small mammal populations and ecology in the Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystems Project area. In: Verner, Jared, tech. editor. Proceedings of a Symposium on the Kings River Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Project: Progress and Current Status. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-183, Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 133-142
