Inventory and assessment of mammal communities in Montezuma Castle National Monument

Drost, Charles; Ellison, Laura

The mammal fauna of Montezuma Castle National Monument is a diverse component of the local natural community. It ranges from small, locally distributed species such as shrews, voles, and other rodents, to aerially-foraging, wide-ranging bats, to large species that range widely in and out of the Monument, such as deer, elk, and coyote. A hypothetical list of the mammals in the vicinity of the Monument, based on range maps from 'Mammals of Arizona' (Hoffmeister 1986) totals over 80 species (Appendix 1). Some of these species have been extirpated (the Gray Wolf, Canis lupus, Grizzly Bear, Ursus arctos, Jaguar, Panthera onca, and possibly Gunnison's Prairie Dog, Cynomys gunnisoni, and Hispid Pocket Mouse, Perognathus hispidus), but the population status - and even the presence or absence - of many other species is not known. Owing to the Monument's location near a major physiographic transition, a number of species reach the edge of their range in this area. These include the Arizona Myotis, the Hognose Skunk, and several of the pocket mice, white-footed mice, and other small mammals. Species near the edge of their range are generally more susceptible to environmental change and disturbance, so the present status and long-term trend of these species is of particular interest. Large mammal species such as Mule Deer, Elk, and all of the carnivore species probably range widely into and out of the Monument. Because of this, their populations are much more susceptible to outside management practices, direct persecution, and other human-related impacts than species with small home ranges. The problem of external impacts is much more acute in a small unit like Montezuma Castle. There is a diverse bat fauna in central Arizona in the general vicinity of the Monument (Hoffmeister 1986), including at least two state-listed rare species - the western red bat, and the spotted bat (Arizona Game and Fish Department 1988). However, the bats that nest and roost within the Monument, and forage over its riparian strip and other habitats, have not been studied in detail. The objectives of this study were to: 1. Determine the species of mammals that occur within the Monument. 2. Determine the distribution and abundance of mammal species, in relation to the habitat types identified by the Montezuma Castle vegetation study being conducted by Dr. Peter Rowlands of the CPSU/NAU. 3. Collect ecological information, such as habitat affiliations and requirements, seasonal patterns of habitat use, movements within and between habitats, dispersal of young, home range characteristics, growth rates, mortality, recruitment, longevity, and population cycles. 4. Develop long-term monitoring recommendations for the Monument. 5. Develop an annotated checklist of the mammals of the Monument, that can be distributed via the visitor center. (Selected paragraphs copied verbatim from the report Introduction.)