Habitat Distribution of Peromyscus leucopus within Prairie Woods

Abstract

Studies of small mammals in western portions of Kansas and Nebraska have shown the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) to be an inhabitant of riparian as well as planted woods (Jones, 1964; Fleharty and Stadel, 1968; Kaufman and Fleharty, 1974). However, little effort has been devoted to analysis of its occurrence in speciFic habitats within these wooded areas. We report here the habitat distribution of P. Ieucopus within a riparian woods and a planted shelterbelt in northcentral Kansas. The RIPARIAN site was the woodland associated with a meandering creek located in a pasture 1 mile E, 21/2 miles S Lucas, Piussell CCounty, Kansas. A 12 X 18 grid (20 m intervals) was placed in the pasture, but only traps occurring within the riparian woods were included in the fo,lowing analysis. The SHELTERBELT site consisted of a half-mile planted shelterbelt bordered by a pasture and a cultivated field 2 miles S, 1 mile W Lucas, Russell County, Kansas. Traps were placed at 18-20 m intervals along two lines 20 m apart which ran the length of the grove. We placed one Sherman live-trap (5.3 X 6.6 X 17.1 cm) at each of 110 RIPARIAN and 96 SHELTERBELT stations. Traps were checked each morning for five days in August 1976 and all Peromyscus removed. Stations were assigned to one of three habitats at each site; habitats were defined according to relative amounts of woody vegetation, canopy and understory. RIPARIAN. Woods/sparse (36 stations). All stations were within 10 meters of the creek and under a canopy formed by elms (Ulmus americana and U. pumila), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa), cottonwood (Populus sargentii) and willows (Salix sp.). Herbaceous understory was sparse with ground cover less than 50% at most stations. Common forbs included ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya), sunflower (Helianthus annuus), curly cup gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa), snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marginata) and fireweed (Kochia scoparia). Woodsidense (45 stations) Stations were under or within 10 meters of canopy formed by the same tree species as above. The understory was dense with more than 50% ground cover at all stations and nearly complete cover at many stations. The common forbs were sunflower, curly cup gumweed, snow-on-themountain, ironweed (Vernonia interior) and woolly verbena (Verbena stricta). Hemlock (29 stations). Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum),