Movement patterns of riparian small mammals during predictable floodplain inundation
Andersen DC, Wilson KR, Miller MS, Falck M. 2000. Movement patterns of riparian small mammals during predictable floodplain inundation. Journal of Mammalogy. 81(4):1087-1099
Spring flooding forces movement by small mammals living in the riparian zone of northwestern Colorado's large rivers. To explore flooding impacts on the mice, voles, and kangaroo rats, the authors used study areas on the Green and Yampa rivers in Dinosaur National Monument, areas similar except that the Green River has regulated flows. Contrary to initial expectations, the animals did not relocate to nearby upland areas, even temporarily. The study found that most of the small mammals try to remain in their original home range as long as possible, and in the end, most of the voles and kangaroo rats perish when flooded. The deer mice climb cottonwood saplings, but results depend on the extent and duration of the flood event. "River regulation can affect both sets of risks." Other disturbances can result from flooding: changes in cottonwood sapling survival depending on survival rates of herbivores, or small mammals swept downstream that survive to colonize or join populations in other areas. Little information has been available on the normal relations of mammals to natural river flows, and, in consequence, there is a lack of understanding of effects of dams on riparian mammals.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Andersen, Douglas; Wilson, Kenneth; Miller, Michael; Falck, Miles
- Units
- DINO
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Aquatic Studies, Deerlodge Park (DINO), Flood Management/History, Green River, Hydrology (General), Island Park (DINO), Mammals, Management, Plant Communities, Plant Studies, Riparian Zone, Rodents (Rodentia), Wetlands/Riparian, Wildlife Management, Yampa River