Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories
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Established in 1909, Itasca Biological Station and Labs (IBSL) is one of the oldest and largest continuously-operated inland field training centers in the United States. The station is located within Itasca State Park, a pristine site for the study of diverse organisms in undisturbed habitats.
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Browsing Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories by Author "Avendano, Javier"
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Item A comparison of mammal diversity in prairie and forest habitats(2011-02-09) Avendano, JavierIn this study we examined the diversity of small mammals found within various types of forest habitats in comparison to the diversity of mammals caught in prairie habitats. Through an analysis of our results we were able to determine which ecosystem was more diverse. We predicted that the prairie habitats would be more diverse than the mixed forests because the prairie ecosystem can support many more kinds of species.The mixed forests habitats consisted of a burned deciduous area, an unburned deciduous area, a burned red pine area, an unburned red pine area, an aspen area, and finally a bog area. We set a gridline of forty-eight trap nights for the different habitats, forty Sherman traps and eight Longworth traps. The gridlines consisted of four lines of traps with ten traps in each row spaced ten meters apart. Two trap spots in each line had an additional Longworth trap. These trap spots were chosen at random. Sites were checked once a day for three consecutive days. Each mammal captured was identified and individually marked, and the data was recorded and pooled into a single data set. The same method applies for the prairie location, which consisted of rush south, rush north, Coburn east, Coburn west, Waubun wet, and Waubun dry.Item Effects of Plains Pocket Gopher (Geomys bursarius) Mound Building on Plant Diversity(2011-02-09) Curry, Jessica; Avendano, Javier; Peterson, JulieThe plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) is a member of the order Rodentia and family Geomyidae. The effects of these subterranean herbivores on vegetation can arise from diet selection, foraging behavior, and burrow structure and dynamics. In the absence of pocket gophers there is higher soil fertility which lead to higher plant biomass, in turn reduces light availability at the surface. Our study was designed to examine the effect of gopher mounds on plant diversity. Of 256 unique patches of vegetation sampled we found that 195 (76%) were associated with a gopher mound and 61 (24%) were not associated with a mound. Of the total patches surveyed 28 (11%) were associated with new mounds, 81 (32%) with abandoned mounds, and 86 (33%) with old mounds. While the mounds may be detrimental to plant diversity while they are active, once they are abandoned by the gophers they become beneficial.