Small Mammal Diversity: Around Itasca State Park and Agassiz Prairie Habitats

Abstract

We compared the small mammal diversity of a forest and a prairie biome. An aspen forest, red pine forest, a burnt area, and a bog were studied in Itasca State Park and in Agassiz we studied burnt prairie both by a road and away from it, an oak prairie, and an aspen prairie. Grids were set up to live trap using Sherman, Longworth, and Russian traps for three trap nights in each biome. A total of 85 small mammals were captured. Peromyscus (deer and white-footed mouse) was consistently found in both biomes within their burnt areas. We concluded that the eastern chipmunk preferred a forest environment and the thirteen-lined ground squirrel preferred the prairie to the forest.