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Full-Text Articles in Biodiversity
Effect Of The 2013-2015 California Drought On Small Mammal Abundance And Diversity In Chaparral, Oak Woodland And Riparian Habitats, Nicole Desideri
Effect Of The 2013-2015 California Drought On Small Mammal Abundance And Diversity In Chaparral, Oak Woodland And Riparian Habitats, Nicole Desideri
Biological Sciences
Long-term biodiversity surveys are a useful tool for assessing the impacts of stochastic events on wildlife and their communities. A recent stochastic event to affect the state of California is the historic 2013-2015 drought. This drought, described as a one-in-one-thousand year event, brought precipitation to a historic low; the statewide rainfall reaching 34% below average (Swain et al. 2014). While humans are feeling the impact of this water shortage, the effects on native ecosystems and wildlife populations are poorly documented. Baseline small mammal biodiversity data collected in 2011, before the drought, allows us the opportunity to study the impacts of …
A Closer Look At The Breeding Season Of The Kangaroo Rat Dipodomys Heermanni, Brianna R. Lavelle
A Closer Look At The Breeding Season Of The Kangaroo Rat Dipodomys Heermanni, Brianna R. Lavelle
Biological Sciences
The breeding season of kangaroo rats has not been a widely studied topic, and therefore is not very well known. Dipodomys heermanni is the species of interest for this study and is thought to breed from February to October (Kelt, 1988). The purpose of this study is to take this broad time period and narrow it down to prime breeding activity months. I hypothesized the prime breeding season of Dipodomys heermanni arenae to be between March and June. Mark-recapture methods were applied to the kangaroo rats at our study site in the Guadalupe Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge during the …
Potential For Barn Owl As Rodent Biological Control In Central California Vineyards, Hannah Tillmann
Potential For Barn Owl As Rodent Biological Control In Central California Vineyards, Hannah Tillmann
Biological Sciences
The pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) and voles (Microtus spp.) cause significant economic damage to vineyards. In response, many growers have taken steps to attract Barn Owls (Tyto alba) to their properties to help keep these rodent populations in check. This research project investigated Barn Owl consumption of pocket gophers and voles in Central California vineyards in order to assess the efficiency of this integrated pest management strategy. I collected a total of 715 owl pellets from five vineyard locations in Templeton and Paso Robles, California over an eight-month period during nesting and post-fledging seasons. I …