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Assessing Rodent Species Counts And Diversity In The Not-Grazed Montana De Oro State Park And The Rotationally Grazed Pecho Ranch, Nancy Marie Lemos

Master's Theses

The available data examining the influence of rotational grazing on rodent responses are limited. This study investigated how rotational livestock grazing practices influence small mammal rodent abundances and species diversity. We looked for evidence of variation in the occurrence and/or numbers of certain rodent species among three plant community types (grassland, shrubland, grass-shrub mix), managed with or without grazing. We used Sherman live traps over a total of eight trapping sessions. We totaled 486 trapnights for each of the six plant community and grazing management combinations. The three plant community types were identified by visual cover.

Out of the eight …

The Ecological Effects Of Cattle Grazing On Reptiles And Small Mammals In A San Joaquin Valley Grassland, Michael William Tom

Master's Theses

Livestock grazing is a common and extensive land use practice in the United States occurring in a wide range of habitat types. As such, livestock grazing has the potential to alter ecosystem structure, function and community composition. The primary component (Chapter 1) of this thesis examined the effects of cattle grazing in a San Joaquin Valley grassland on two target taxa: reptiles and small mammals. The study took place on the Chimineas Unit of the Carrizo Ecological Reserve, San Luis Obispo County, California during Fall 2009 and Spring 2010. These taxa were sampled on matched pairs of two grazed and …