Small mammal response to habitat change following fire in the taiga of southeastern Manitoba | Posted on:2004-07-22 | Degree:M.Sc | Type:Thesis | University:University of Manitoba (Canada) | Candidate:Reid-Wong, Monica | Full Text:PDF | GTID:2460390011977522 | Subject:Zoology | Abstract/Summary: | | The influence of fire on small mammal populations was investigated in the taiga of southeastern Manitoba. Small mammals were sampled by annual removal trapping in six different habitats over twenty-five years at Taiga Biological Station (TBS). Changes in temporal patterns of short-term abundance and long-term population synchronicity were investigated for fluctuating numbers of small mammals. The southern red-backed vole (Clethrionomys gapperi), the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), and the masked shrew (Sorex cinereus), were the three most common small mammals captured.;Examination of population fluctuations revealed that while fire-induced changes in food availability, cover and moisture were likely responsible for differences in small mammal abundance, populations of individual species were alternatively affected by unknown, large-scale, synchronizing influences. This discovery became evident through the common occurrence of similar peak abundance years for C. gapperi, regardless of habitat-type or distance between sampling sites. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). | Keywords/Search Tags: | Small mammal, Taiga | | Related items |
| |
|