Diversity within Small Mammal Communities of Forested Sites Around Itasca State Park and Nearby Prairie Sites

Abstract

Our experiment aimed to determine if there was a difference in species richness between forested areas within Itasca State Park and nearby prairie sites. We set up six different diversity grids within each habitat type (forest or prairie) and checked the traps for three consecutive days. Caught species were noted. We found there to be greater species diversity in the prairie sites compared to the forest sites. The forest sites had greater productivity than the prairie sites. We concluded that the prairie has greater species diversity. We also concluded that individual sites within each habitat type also had different levels of species diversity.