Browsing by Author "Grunzke, Danielle"

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    Comparison of Small Mammal Communities within Forested and Prairie Habitats
    (2011-02-09) Sigler, Holly; Grunzke, Danielle; Rehmann, Andrew
    Habitat plays a large part in small mammal diversity in any given area. Each species may be habitat selective for many different reasons, some of which are food type or supply, water levels or availability, temperature, and shelter. Each species varies in selectivity which leads to widely varying species diversity in different habitat types. In particular we wanted to look at the variation between the species found in a forested habitat versus a prairie habitat. Previous research would indicate larger species diversity to be found in the forested habitats (Dueser and Shugart 1978). In addition we are also interested in the difference in species diversity between burned and unburned sites of otherwise similar habitat. It has been shown that burned sites will typically yield larger species diversity (Krefting and Ahlgren 1974). Over the course of two weeks we collected specimen data through live-trapping at six forest sites and six prairie sites. The forest sites consisted of varying forest type throughout Itasca State Park in Park Rapids, MN; burned deciduous, unburned deciduous, burned red pine, unburned red pine, aspen, and bog. Two prairie sites were in the Coburn state wildlife management area, two were burned sites in the Rush Lake state wildlife management area, and two sites were on private property in Waubun, MN. One Waubun site was of dry soil type and the other Waubun site was of a wet habitat type.
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    The Effects of Plains Pocket Gopher (Geomys bursarius) Mounds on Localized Vegetation Diversity
    (2011-02-09) Sigler, Holly; Grunzke, Danielle; Rehmann, Andrew
    The plains pocket gopher’s (Geomys bursarius) burrowing activities have a significant influence on the ecosystem. This fossorial mammal can displace large volumes of soil and consequently drastically alter the surface soils chemical composition, which in turn affects the plant diversity. We measured the effects of the plains pocket gopher on a semi-arid short-grass abandoned field plot near Itasca State Park in Minnesota. Relatively few new mounds were found and thus we were unable to adequately address short-term affects. Although past research has shown a loss in overall vegetation in the short term. Long term effects included larger species diversity as a result of slowed successional processes.
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    The Original Ant-Eaters: The effect of ants on the health of Sarracenia purpurea
    (2012-03-05) Grunzke, Danielle; Hawkinson, Anna; Stedman, Kathryn; Wagener, Jasmine
    Pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea), a species of carnivorous plant found in bogs, are often preyed upon by herbivorous insects. A study done by Moon et al. has suggested that ants indirectly deter this herbivory. The relationship between S. purpurea health and presence of ants was investigated by observing ant activity around plants, measuring the contents of pitchers, and recording average height, diameter and color of the plants. We found that plants without signs of herbivory were more likely to have ants in the surrounding area.