Effects of enclosed large ungulates on small mammals at Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky

Published source details Weikert C.C., Whittaker J.C. & Feldhamer G.A. (2001) Effects of enclosed large ungulates on small mammals at Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky. The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 115, 247-250.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Manage vegetation using grazing by wild herbivores Action Link

Manage vegetation using grazing by wild herbivores

A site comparison study in 1998–1999 at a forest site in Tennessee, USA (Weickert et al. 2001) found that in areas grazed by high numbers of wild herbivores, of three species, there were more small mammals than in areas grazed by fewer wild herbivores with just one species present. More small mammals were caught in areas with high wild herbivore abundance (145 small mammals) than in areas with low wild herbivore abundance (96 small mammals). Numbers caught in areas with high and low herbivore abundance were: white-footed mouse Peromyscus leucopus (130 vs 69), northern short-tailed shrew Blarina brevicauda (8 vs 22), woodland vole Microtus pinetorum (2 vs 5), golden mouse Ochrotomys nuttalli (4 vs 0), southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans (1 vs 0) (species-level results were not statistically tested). Small mammals were surveyed at six plots inside a 324-ha enclosure, where elk Cervus canadensis and bison Bison bison were released in 1994, and six plots outside the enclosure, where no elk or bison occurred. White-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus occurred both inside and outside the enclosure. Herbivore density was 46/km² inside the enclosure and 6–10/km² outside the enclosure. Small mammals were sampled 13 times at each plot, from June 1998 to May 1999, using 15 Sherman live traps, along a 100-m transect, for three nights each time.

(Summarised by: Ricardo Rocha)