Abstract
Abstract The distributions of masked shrews (Sorex cinereus Kerr) and smoky shrews (S. fumeus Miller) were examined in relation to environmental conditions on opposing slopes in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Arrays of drift fences and pitfall traps were established on 3 north-facing plots, 3 south-facing plots, and 6 streamside plots in the Gingercake Creek drainage of Burke County, North Carolina. Shrews and invertebrates were collected on several consecutive nights each month in the autumn of 1996 and in the spring and summer of 1997 (TN = 2544). Leaf litter moisture content, daily high temperatures, and volume of downed logs were measured. South-facing plots were significantly warmer and drier than north-facing and streamside plots (p < 0.001) and had the lowest percentage volume of heavily decomposed logs (p = 0.02). Capture rates of S. cinereus and S. fumeus were significantly greater on mesic north-facing slopes and at streamside sites than on xeric south-facing slopes (p = 0.05 and 0.04), but...
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