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Furrrreal: Assessing the Impacts of Microhabitat and Trapping Methods on Small Mammal Communities
Collyear, Darby Domingo, Jason Owens, Ashley Andresen, Lillian Lesser, Mark Garneau, Danielle
Collyear, Darby
Domingo, Jason
Owens, Ashley
Andresen, Lillian
Lesser, Mark
Garneau, Danielle
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2025-12-11
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Small mammals serve as seed dispersers, consumers, and prey, shaping food web dynamics. They also drive seed predation, plant regeneration, soil aeration, and nutrient cycling. Their abundance can be driven by annual masting trends, drought, and type of trapping method. In fall 2025, we surveyed small mammal communities in Morrisonville, NY at a property containing a conifer-dominated forest, mixed forest, meadow, and wetland along Riley Brook. At each microhabitat, ten Sherman live traps were set and baited at dusk, checked the next morning, and were baited. The next morning animals were identified, measured (e.g., length, and weight) and any species with ears was ear tagged before release. Live trapping took place three times and bucket game cameras were set to capture still images. CamTrap package in R was used to rename and graph site-specific abundances and diel activity for each species. Peromyscus sp. was the most abundant species across all sites. Based on bucket camera findings, the small mammal community was most diverse (S=8) in the conifer-dominated forest which contains fungal associates that support northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus), while dense understory leaf litter offers seeds and invertebrates which appeal to Peromyscus sp. and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Mixed forests are diverse (S=6) and offer varied resources with denser understory supporting seed predators such as gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), Peromyscus sp., and Virginia opossum. Wetlands (S=5) with their hydric soils and plants supported Peromsycus sp. and northern short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda). Meadows (S=4) support an abundance of herbaceous plants and invertebrates, which facilitates domination by granivorous meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and insectivorous northern short-tailed shrews. A lone weasel was found in the meadow and rare sightings of raccoons in the conifer forest and wetland. Small mammal communities in the meadow and wetland were the most similar (86%), while the meadow and conifer forest were the least (33%). Bucket cameras consistently detected higher species richness and a broader representation of functional groups than live traps, which primarily captured small rodents. Findings show that microhabitat structure strongly influences small mammal community composition, and that non-invasive bucket cameras captured a more complete representation of the small mammal assemblage than live trapping alone. Bucket camera trapping should be considered when designing experiments targeting small mammals.