A Regional Study of Diversity and Abundance of Small Mammals in Ohio

Abstract

The goal of this study was to obtain information on diversity, abundance, and distribution of non-volant small mammals in 4 major habitat types in each of 5 regions of Ohio. We trapped in 31 study areas, representing 39 counties, for 3 consecutive nights for a total of 38,400 trap nights. We established eight 100-m transects (each with 10 live traps, 20 snap traps, and 20 pitfall traps) per study area in woodland, oldfield, grassland-pasture, or restored prairie-wetland habitats. We captured fourteen species of small mammals (shrews and rodents <100 g in body mass), but 97% of the 2150 captured consisted of just 4 species: Microtus pennsylvanicus (Meadow Vole; 31%), Peromyscus leucopus (White-footed Mouse; 29%), Blarina brevicauda (Short-tailed Shrew; 21%), and Sorex cinereus (Masked Shrew; 16%). Regional differences in abundance of small mammals (captures/100 trap nights) and species diversity (H') were not significant (P > 0.05). Seven species of interest were captured in low numbers (<10) and 2 others, Reithrodontomys humulis (Eastern Harvest Mouse) and Myodes gapperi (Red-backed Vole), were not captured in the course of the 2-year study.