Non-volant mammal inventory for Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (GCNMP) within the Cumberland Piedmont Network
Kalcounis-Ruppell M, Shiflet L, Vindigni M. 2007. Non-volant mammal inventory for Guilford Courthouse National Military Park (GCNMP) within the Cumberland Piedmont Network. University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Greensboro, North Carolina
We were interested in surveying Guilford Courthouse National Military Park for non‐volant mammals during summer 2007. In order to document as many non‐volant mammal species as possible within GCNMP, a variety of methods were used including small and medium sized mammal traps, dry pit‐fall traps, automated digital wildlife cameras, and visual encounters. Sampling along 100m trap lines took place in 3 habitat types (grassland, riparian edge, forest) during the morning (5:30am‐10:00am) and during the night (10pm‐5am) twice weekly over 8 weeks from May through July 2007. We used the existing 15 plots established by Nature Serve as starting points for establishing our trap lines. During our study, we recorded 12 species of non‐volant mammals from 142 individual observations. No endangered, threatened, or candidate listing species were documented. The 12 species of non‐volant mammals recorded represent 34 percent of the 35 species of non‐volant mammals expected. We captured the following species in traps: northern short‐tailed shrew, eastern chipmunk, woodchuck, white‐footed mouse, hispid cotton rat, and northern raccoon. We visually identified the following species: Virginia opossum, eastern cottontail, eastern chipmunk, woodchuck, eastern gray squirrel, white‐footed mouse, gray fox, domestic cat, northern raccoon, and white‐tailed deer. All species found during the survey are relatively widespread and considered common in North Carolina. When compared to two previous surveys of GCNMP, insectivore and rodent diversity has declined, while abundance of common urban species such as white‐tailed deer, gray squirrels, and raccoon has increased. Recommendations include monitoring of raccoon and deer populations, maintaining long grass where possible, and remaining vigilant against the establishment of non‐native rats and mice.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Kalcounis-Ruppell, Matina; Shiflet, Lindsey; Vindigni, Melissa
- Date of Issue
- 2007-08-15
- Publisher
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- Units
- CUPN , GUCO , NRIM
- Keywords
- Inventory, Mammal, Mammals Inventory Reports, Survey, Vertebrate