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| Title: | Small Mammals, habitat, and Forest Restoration at Seney National Wildlife Refuge |
| Authors: | Harrington, Erin |
| Issue Date: | 1-Aug-2006 |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACT
My study took place at Seney National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) in the east-central
Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Recently, SNWR forest management has attempted to build and
maintain biological integrity though ecological restoration. In order to inform managers about
wildlife habitat requirements, my study focused on the habitat use of small mammals. I
investigated at which scale, macro- or microhabitat, habitat elements predicted the presence of
small mammals. I predicted: 1) small mammal communities in near old-growth stands will be
more abundant than in logged habitats proposed for restoration and 2) small mammal species
composition, in mature and second-growth conifers and hardwoods, can be predicted by specific
habitat characteristics such as coarse woody debris abundance and basal area of trees.
I trapped small mammals in eight hardwood stands, with four replicates each of mature
and second-growth forest stands, and in nine coniferous sites with three replicates of each
category (mature, second-growth, recently cut). Small mammals were live-trapped during July
and August in 2004 and 2005; vegetation measurements were taken during the summer of 2005.
At the macrohabitat scale, no significant differences were found between small mammal captures
and site categories on either deciduous or coniferous plots even though differences in habitat
structure among site categories existed (evident in the principle components analysis). However,
my results supported the hypothesis that microhabitat features are important in predicting the
distribution of small mammals. At the micro-scale, the binomial regression analysis identified
three important habitat elements on which managers should concentrate restoration efforts:
coarse woody debris, snags, and tree species diversity. Many other wildlife species depend on
the same habitat elements as small mammals and a management focus on these three habitat
components during restoration will help to obtain overall biological integrity. |
| Appears in Collections: | Natural Resources and Environment, School of (SNRE)
Dissertations and Theses (Ph.D. and Master's)
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| ErinHarringtonThesis.pdf | | 155Kb | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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