GLKN Mammal Inventories |
Small Mammal Inventory of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and St. Croix National Scenic Riverway |
Gus Smith, Department of Biology and Natural Resources, Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin |
Abstract: Island colonization by mammals is a function of island distance from source populations, island size, and the impedance through which mammals must travel to reach the islands. We inventoried small mammals at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, an archipelago of 22 islands in Lake Superior, and at the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, where islands were represented by isolated prairie patches surrounded by a forest matrix. At the Apostle Islands, trapping was conducted at thirteen locations on five islands and spanning 1,814 trapnights. At the Saint Croix Riverway, trapping was conducted at four locations encompassing 664 trapnights. All mammals were live trapped, tagged, and released. Four species were captured at the Apostle Islands with the southern red-backed vole the most abundant small mammal captured on all islands. At the Saint Croix Riverway, six species were captured including the meadow vole, the only species captured at both Parks. The other species included three mouse species, eastern chipmunk, and thirteen-lined ground squirrel. At the Apostle Islands, the combination of an island’s distance from a source population coupled with the island’s size appears to limit colonization. At the Saint Croix Riverway, prairie generalists were located, although no prairie obligates were captured, suggesting that colonization may be limited by the landscape matrix. Project Status: Completed |
Small Mammal Inventory of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore |
Gus Smith, Department of Biology and Natural Resources, Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin |
Abstract: The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is an archipelago comprised of a mainland unit and 22 islands. The presence of non-volant mammals on the islands is expected to be a function, in part, of distance to the mainland, distance to other islands, and size of the mainland source population. Baited traps were placed in transects in the field at two sites each, on the mainland, Stockton Island, Outer Island, and Devils Island. A total of seven mammal species were captured in the study. All seven were captured at the mainland site, 4 species each on Outer and Stockton Islands, and two species were captured on Devil’s Island. The two most abundant species captured were the southern red-back vole and the woodland deermouse, although the latter was not captured on Outer Island. Three mammals that were expected to be captured in this study were not, including the common house mouse, white-footed mouse, and southern flying squirrel. Mammals that were captured on the mainland but not on the islands tended to be those that are inactive in winter (northern flying squirrel) and those that hibernate (eastern chipmunk and meadow jumping mouse). However, meadow jumping mice also live at low densities on the mainland, which might explain their absence on the islands. This study suggests that crossing over ice during the winter may play a key role in island colonization by small non-volant mammals. Project Status: Completed |
Assessing Cougar Presence at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore |
Jerry L. Belant, Pictured Rocks Science Center, Munising, Michigan and Steve Yancho, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Empire, Michigan |
Project Description: Cougars (Puma concolor) have expanded their recent geographic range into several Midwestern states. A number of sightings and observations of sign have been reported in Michigan, but none to date have been independently verified. Cougars have been reported in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; however, no formal survey has been conducted to verify their presence. The objective of this study is to conduct formalized surveys to determine if cougars are present at the Lakeshore. We will use searches for scat, hair snares, and remote cameras to assess cougar presence. Track surveys will be used secondarily due to the difficulties of distinguishing cougar from canid tracks. This study will provide quantitative evidence for presence of cougar in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Project Status: Ongoing |
Inventory of Bats at Pictured Rocks, Grand Portage, and Apostle Islands |
Laura Kruger and Rolf Peterson, Michigan Technological University, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Houghton Michigan, and Gus Smith, Department of Biology and Natural Resources, Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin |
Problem Statement: Compared to many vertebrate groups there is a paucity of data on the occurrence and relative abundance of bats (Chiropteran spp.) in the National Parks. Of the 15 critical inventory needs identified by outside experts, and adopted by the Great Lakes Network, only herpetafauna and rare/exotic plants had more pervasive and consistently higher ranked needs for inventory work in the network parks. This proposal details a descriptive inventory of bats at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS), Grand Portage National Monument (GRPO), and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO) who ranked this as their second highest priority for biological inventories. Detailed information on the distribution and abundance of bats, even in a park as small as GRPO (710 acres) would be costly, however, it is critical that at a minimum the occurrence and relative abundance of all species be established and that areas of potentially high value for bats be identified so that parks can manage for them. The diversity of aquatic and forest resources within and surrounding APIS, GRPO, and PIRO potentially provides habitat for several species of bats including: the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), silver-haired bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans), eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), and possibly the eastern pipestrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus) and the small-footed myotis (Myotis leibii). A thorough summer survey during the years 2003 and 2004 will provide more detailed information on species occurrences and relative abundances. It is critical that all species of bats occurring within the park are documented and that the areas of potentially high value to the bats be identified so that the park can manage for them in the future. Objectives: The project is designed to fulfill the following objectives:
Project Status: Completed |
Application of the National Lynx Detection Protocol in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota |
Bill Route, Great Lakes I&M Network Office, Ashland Wisconsin and Jim Schaberl, Mt. Rainier National Park, Ashford, Washington |
Abstract: During the winters of 2000-01 and 2001-02 we attempted to verify the presence of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), bobcat (Felis rufus), and cougar (Felis concolor) in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. In winter 2000-01 we applied the U.S. Forest Service’s National Lynx Detection Protocol with only slight modifications. This survey makes use of hair snares to collect tissue samples for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fingerprinting to the species-level and nuclear DNA to distinguish between individuals. The method has been applied across the northern-forested areas of the United States in an effort to describe the distribution and relative abundance of Canada lynx. We choose to conduct the survey during winter when we would have the additional opportunity to find snow-tracks of all three felid species. We originally adopted the technique hoping to compare our results to those of others. However, we obtained no “hits” in winter 2000-01. Over the two winters we placed a total of 250 hair snares for cats. Snares were checked at approximately 14-day intervals over a 30-40 day period in late February and early March each year. These snares resulted in three hair samples in 2000-01 and five samples in 2001-02. DNA analysis revealed that all three hair-samples in 2000-01 were white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Surveyors encountered and measured three sets of cat-like snow-tracks in 2000-01 while conducting the hair-snare survey. Two of these tracks were measured with sufficient detail for analysis (Halfpenny et al 1996). Preliminary results suggest bobcats made the tracks. No cat-like snow-tracks were encountered in 2001-02. Project Status: Completed |
