Small mammal responses to prairie reconstruction and prescribed burns
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As prairie reconstructions become more relevant, we must understand the impact of reconstruction and a common prairie management practice, prescribed burning, on small mammals. It is believed that small mammals may recover at different times after reconstruction or burning based on a vegetative cover threshold specific to each species. The goal of this study was to investigate whether small mammal abundance is affected by vegetation using deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), and prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). I first determined whether vegetation functional groups were affected by prescribed burns or reconstruction using vegetation species richness, Shannon H diversity, and percent cover. An Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was also used to determine whether changes in vegetation cover for each functional group influence small mammal abundance. Findings suggest vegetation was affected by restoration and prescribed fires. Shannon H diversity and richness were higher for the remnant prairie and generally increased with time postfire. Reconstruction had similar effects as fire, though less pronounced. Fire and reconstruction had little effect on small mammals and no vegetational functional group was found to influence small mammal abundance. There was also evidence of potential competition between grasses and forbs. I recommend burning more frequently as the effects of prescribed fires weaken at around two years.
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M.S.