Small Mammal Movements In Previously Burned Habitats Laura M. Diesburg and Hayley C. Lanier University of Wyoming at Casper, 125 College Drive, Casper WY (1) Title slide

Introduction Fires Increase plant diversity Changed landscape may alter behavior of mammals Question How does fire change movements in small mammal populations? (1) Introduction – slide 1 (2) Briefly describe fire ecology and present the question and its importance (3) 1. Fires change the structure and composition of not only plants, but also the organisms that occupy the area, particularly movement. 2. The purpose of this study was to determine how fire may influence the movements of small mammal populations. 3. This may give us deeper understanding of the ecological role small mammals have in post-fire succession areas and may alter the practice of controlled burns. (4) The small mammals I looked at were Red-backed voles and Deer mice. Importance Ecological role of small mammals Effects of fire on mammal populations Alter fire management

Background Deer mice Variety of habitats More likely to traverse modified landscapes First to reach freshly burned areas Successful colonizers that dominate area (1) Introduction – slide 2 (2) Briefly describe small mammal biology and present objectives/methodology (3) 1. Red-backed voles are habitat specialists, meaning they are particular in where they live. They prefer coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests with an abundance of floor litter including downed rotting logs, exposed roots, and stumps. 2. Deer mice are habitat generalists meaning they can utilize a variety of environments and can be found all across the continent 3. My objectives are to determine how mammal movements compare between each species and how they differ between burned and unburned areas. (4) In order to answer this question I utilized data from a long-term study of fire succession in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Background Red-Backed voles Habitat specialists Prefer old growth forests w/ floor litter, rotting logs Over time become dominant species

Objectives Most abundant and influential species in the area How do movement patterns compare between these two species? How do small mammal movements relate to burn history?

Predictions Since deer mice so readily disperse, they probably travel greater distances than red-backed voles. Perhaps small mammals travel further in burned areas because they have cover from downed logs OR travel further in unburned areas because they have more vegetative cover

Methods Data Collection Yellowstone Mammal Fire Project study sites Mark-recapture data Two burned (EFB, WFB) Two unburned controls (EFC, WFC) 100 traps were set up in a 10x10 arrangement (1) Methods – slide 1 (2) Explain how the study was carried out (3) 1. I used capture-recapture data from the long-term study that was collected from four trapping grids that included both burned and unburned control grids. 2. The traps within the grids were arranged in a 10x10 square with each trap being 10 meters away from the traps adjacent. 3. Distances were determined by calculating the distance all recapture sites were from the original capture site. 4. Average and maximum distances were compared between the two species and between burned and unburned areas. 5. Statistical analysis was used to determine if differences were significant and to determine which factor was the most influential on the data. (4) After analysis it was found that...

Methods Animals were uniquely marked to identify recaptures

Methods Distance = 10 + 10 = 20.0 m Data Analysis Distances calculated → Distance = 10 + 10 = 20.0 m Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine significance

Methods Distance = √(202 + 202) = 28.3 m Data Analysis Distances calculated → 50 red-backed voles and 50 deer mice Compared: movements among four grids average distances between species Distance = √(202 + 202) = 28.3 m Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine significance

Results Distances traveled: Red-Backed voles Average = 17.79 m Maximum = 25.27 m Deer mice Average = 34.26 m Maximum = 40.67 m Statistical significance Average: p = 7.158e-06 Maximum: p = 0.001128 (1) Results – slide 1 (2) Present the results of the study (3) 1. The average distance traveled by red-backed voles was 17.79 meters while the average distance traveled by deer mice was 34.26 meters. 2. The maximum distance traveled by red-backed voles was 25.27 meters and the maximum distance traveled by deer mice was 40.67 meters 3. The differences in both calculations was statistically significant; average distance p = 7.158e-06 and maximum distance p = 0.001128. 4. The most significant factor influencing these differences was the grid type. (4) Most interestingly... Red-Backed voles Deer mice

Results - Most influential factors Red-backed voles Red-backed voles 1st model: Grid type only 2nd model: Grid type and sex

Results - Most influential factors Deer mice Deer mice Deer mice 1st model: Burn history and age 2nd model: Burn history, age, and sex

Results Both species traveled further in the burned areas than in unburned areas Deer mice Red-Backed voles (1) Results – slide 2 (2) Present the results of the study (3) 1. Both species traveled further in the burned areas than in the unburned areas (4) These results may have some important implications on the use of controlled burns and their impacts on local communities…

Discussion Results similar to previous studies D’Amico et al, 2015 – WRC structures Possible explanations for burn history differences Travel further to acquire preferential food source Population densities (1) Discussion – slide 1 (2) Discuss what importance the results have and discuss possible explanations for the differences. Also, present possible future directions. (3) 1. Knowing that small mammals travel further in burned areas than in unburned areas gives us insight to what effects future controlled burns will have on existing small mammal populations. 2. The fact that deer mice traveled further than red-backed voles is not surprisingly given that previous studies have also found that deer mice are more likely to traverse changed landscapes (D’Amico et al., 2015) 3. Higher densities of small mammals in the burned areas could account for greater dispersal distances. 4. Given that fires create a vegetative mosaic by clearing out the old growth vegetation, they may need to travel further to acquire the resources they were previously accustomed to consuming. (4) With that, I would like to thank… Practical application Fire as a management tool

Discussion Previous study: Genetic analysis to determine Road Barrier Effect PCR Alignment SNPs

Discussion Previous study: Genetic analysis to determine Road Barrier Effect Genetic distance tree for Deer Mice SNP’s in Red-Backed Voles

Acknowledgements Dr. Hayley C. Lanier Dr. Zachary Roehrs Meredith Roehrs Dr. Scott Burt Dr. R. Scott Seville Many volunteers in the field Isaac Andersson, Luke Baker, Lewis Hein, Haley Tolbert INBRE Grant # 2P20GM103432 (1) Acknowledgements – slide 1 (2) Thank everyone involved in this project (3) 1. Dr. Hayley Lanier 2. Dr. Zac Roehrs, Meredith Roehrs, Dr. Scott Burt, Dr. R. Scott Seville. 3. The many volunteers that worked in the field. (4) I’d also like to thank you for your attention and invite you to ask any questions you may have.

Thank You Questions? (1) Final slide (2) Opportunity for audience to ask questions (3) 1. Q&A (4) Thanks again Questions?