A Live-Trap Study of Small Mammals in Louisiana

Abstract

Two 15-acre areas were selected in a typical cutover, loblolly-shortleaf pine forest near Ruston, Louisiana for a live-trap study. One objective of the study was to determine the effect of controlled burning on small mammals. One hundred live traps were used on each site, and the length of the trapping periods varied from five to six days. The study was begun in January, 1959 and ended in April, 1961. Species trapped included Peromyscus nuttalli, Peromyscus gossypinus, Blarina brevicauda, Reithrodontomys fulvescens , and Microtus pinetorum . All mammals captured were marked for later identification and released. Peromyscus nuttalli and Peromyscus gossypinus were recaptured in sufficient numbers to calculate home range and density per acre. The mean home range of Peromyscus nuttalli was 1.31 acres on the control plot and 1.07 acres on the burned plot. The mean home range of Peromyscus gossypinus was 1.2 acres on the control plot and .74 acres on the burned plot. The highest trap-revealed densities for these two species were 2.79 Peromyscus nuttalli per acre and 1.22 Peromyscus gossypinus per acre. The burn on 23 February 1959 had a negligible effect on the small mammals and was followed by a decrease in trap-revealed rodents for less than a month. Food habit studies by the author have indicated that small mammals are consumers of pine seeds in the loblolly-shortleaf pine association of Louisiana and thus affect pine regeneration. The study was designed to determine the species, abundance, movements and fluctuations of small mammals in a typical cutover, loblolly-shortleaf pine forest, and to evaluate the impact on animal life of the removal of low vegetation and forest litter by fire.