Type of Submission
Poster
Keywords
small mammals, LAI, leaf area index, interpolation
Proposal
The distribution of small mammals within a habitat is not uniform, but rather varies depending on favorable conditions of a species throughout the region. Within the selected 15-acre forest plot, an experiment was developed to detect where small mammals most reside and which conditions they favor. The objective of our study was to evaluate if forest canopy cover estimates (LAI, leaf area index) were a good predictor of small mammal presence.
Using baited Sherman traps we completed 167 trap nights with 8 total captures. At the same time we estimated tree canopy cover using hemispherical photography. We processed photos from 30 co-located sites throughout the 15 acre forest plot. Mean LAI (m2 leaf per m2 ground) was found to be 2.1 with a range of 0.96 - 3.08. Each sample was geolocated to allow us to analyze spatial patterns. We used interpolation methods to visualize the LAI estimates and intensity of capture rates. This revealed an inverse pattern between LAI and small mammal captures at this site. In other words, small mammals were found most abundant where vegetative canopy cover was least dense.
Creative Commons License
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Small Mammal Survey Finds Strong Inverse Spatial Relationship with Forest Canopy Cover
The distribution of small mammals within a habitat is not uniform, but rather varies depending on favorable conditions of a species throughout the region. Within the selected 15-acre forest plot, an experiment was developed to detect where small mammals most reside and which conditions they favor. The objective of our study was to evaluate if forest canopy cover estimates (LAI, leaf area index) were a good predictor of small mammal presence.
Using baited Sherman traps we completed 167 trap nights with 8 total captures. At the same time we estimated tree canopy cover using hemispherical photography. We processed photos from 30 co-located sites throughout the 15 acre forest plot. Mean LAI (m2 leaf per m2 ground) was found to be 2.1 with a range of 0.96 - 3.08. Each sample was geolocated to allow us to analyze spatial patterns. We used interpolation methods to visualize the LAI estimates and intensity of capture rates. This revealed an inverse pattern between LAI and small mammal captures at this site. In other words, small mammals were found most abundant where vegetative canopy cover was least dense.
