Small Mammals Inventory at Little Bighorn National Monument in 2002-2003 - Data Package

Sherman AG , Pearson DE, Socie KA, Ruggiero LF, Kompella MD , Serrantes AC . 2025. Small Mammals Inventory at Little Bighorn National Monument in 2002-2003 - Data Package. National Park Service. Fort Collins CO https://doi.org/10.57830/2293873

The small mammal survey conducted on Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (LIBI) in the summers of 2002 and 2003 had a primary objective of surveying the small mammals of LIBI in an effort to achieve a 90% inventory of the small mammal communities there. Given the potentially high species richness and the potential rarity of some prospective community members, intensive sampling was conducted throughout LIBI using a range of trapping techniques to ensure that the suite of traps provided the most effective means of sampling the entire small mammal community. Additionally, the use of snap traps and pitfalls provided voucher specimens for identification purposes. Since at least one fourth of the species potentially present are difficult to impossible to conclusively identify without using dental, skull, or baculum characteristics (e.g. nearly all the shrews, several voles, and some chipmunks and mice), examination of these characteristics were necessary to approach the 90% census goal and establish conclusive species identifications. A secondary objective of this study was to evaluate small mammal habitat use in the context of exotic plant invasions occurring within the park.

Type
Data Package
Authors
Sherman, Amelia; Pearson, Dean; Socie, Kathryn; Ruggiero, Leonard; Kompella, Melina; Serrantes, Alexa
Date of Issue
2025-03-17
Publisher
National Park Service
DOI
10.57830/2293873
Units
LIBI
Keywords
Inventory, LIBI, Mammals, mice, Montana
Subjects
Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Mammals
License
Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal

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