Thesis  Erin Harrington  Advisors  Bobbi Low  Phil Myers

Hypothesis  the small mammal species composition in different cover types of Seney National Wildlife Refuge can be predicted by specific habitat characteristics, which I will determine in this study  I expect some of the variables most important to small mammals are coarse woody debris, basal area, and tree density  my findings will allow refuge managers to identify ecosystem variables that influence the composition of small mammal communities  the identification of these variables will allow more effective restoration activities

The Study Site  Seney National Wildlife Refuge,  established in 1935  consists of 95,212 acres of a forest-wetland mosaic  25,150 acres of Seney Wilderness Area  Great Manistique Swamp  forested areas of spruce, pine, tamarack, fir, and hardwoods  Refuge’s objectives are  to maintain biodiversity  to provide habitat for native wildlife

Why small mammals?  relatively easy to monitor  can be used to indicate diversity and health of an ecosystem  is considerable work on habitat preferences of small mammals.  many habitat characteristics have been correlated with small mammal species distributions  Coarse woody debris is an important habitat component for southeastern small mammals  Menzel (1999) found that deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) abundance was strongly positively correlated to coarse woody debris loadings  Sullivan (1999) compared the effects of clearcuts and clearcut- burns on small mammal populations in British Columbia

Why are small mammals important?  Seed dispersers, especially of mycorrhizal fungi which is essential for tree regeneration  Important source of food for large predators (mammals and birds)  Predators of insects  Vectors for disease  Indicator species of health of an ecosystem

Why in Michigan?  Michigan is a fascinating place to study small mammal populations because many northern and southern populations overlap  Northern and Southern Flying Squirrels  White-footed Mice and Woodland Deer Mice  Eastern Chipmunk and Least Chipmunk

In the context of habitat restoration  Seney is undergoing and planning for future habitat restoration  imperative that restoration efforts are measured and evaluated before and after restoration occurs in order to inform future management decisions  Patten (1997) compared small mammal populations in a restored desert scrub site and in undisturbed sites.  Patten claimed that little research had been done on the use of restored vegetation by wildlife  restoration ecology is a growing field and many studies examining small mammals and restoration have been conducted since 1997.

Research Objectives  To determine habitat use patterns of small mammals among different cover types  To determine small mammal species richness and relative abundance in study areas  To assess whether habitat structure is related to small mammal species richness and relative abundance using the fewest habitat variables

Research Objectives, continued  To contribute to a broader, long-term refuge study (a community assessment across refuge habitats)  For my thesis research to be useful to the refuge for developing a 10 to 15 year Habitat Management Plan  To design and conduct a study that will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal

Methods  Selection of study sites  Small mammal sampling  Sherman traps  Tomahawk traps  Pitfall traps  Traps set up on a grid, using transects

Habitat Sampling (Methods)  tree height  diameter at breast height (DBH)  number of downed logs and snags  number of stumps  understory stem density  percent ground cover  canopy height and cover  basal area of trees  understory density  soil texture

Data Analysis and Evaluation  The Shannon-Weiner diversity function  calculate species diversity.  Species richness will be determined based on number of species captured at each site  Species abundance will be determined by numbers captured per “x” number of trap nights  regression techniques (multivariate) to test for significant relationships between small mammal variables and habitat variables  The ultimate data evaluation will be successful publication

Schedule  Data collection - July 1 to August 31, 2004 / summer 2005  Continuous literature survey and study design – winter / spring 2004  Thesis writing workplan  Introduction – summer 2004  Study Area – summer 2004  Methods – summer / fall 2004  Results – summer, fall 2005  Discussion – summer / fall 2005  Acknowledgements – fall 2005  Abstract – fall 2005  Conference presentation – fall 2005  Publication process – November 2005 and on  Thesis completed - December 2005

Relevance of Results  Publication  Findings important to  Biologists  Seney wildlife managers  Students  Mammalogists

Budget  Equipment Total Costs - $  Field Assistant - $1200 for 2 months  Travel - $1384  Total is $7,445 for this summer

Funding Sources  Alumni Incentive Fund $1000  Rackham Discretionary Funds  Americorps Education Award $1500  Equipment  Seney National Wildlife Refuge  University of Michigan Mammal Division

Happy trapping !!!