Small Mammal Diversity between Forested Areas and Prairies

Abstract

An experiment was performed in order to determine which ecosystem had greater small mammal diversity, forested areas of prairie areas. This was done by setting mammal traps in both areas, and comparing trap results. Prairies had one more species caught than forests, but this can not be conclusive that prairies have greater diversity. Intro: ` Forests and prairies are quite different from each other, all the way through the vegetation to the soil. These differences create different niches that animals exploit. Every possible resource is used in order to promote the maximum amount of life sustainable. Our experiment of trapping small mammals at these two ecosystems was preformed in order to show us which site has a greater diversity.