Laserfiche WebLink
• estimates on the area without topsoil, abundance was highest (p< 0.05) and diversity <br />lowest (p < 0.01). Deer mice are The dominant species (Tables 2.7-7, 2.7-8). <br />Reclaimed grass without topsoil appears to be the focal point in deer mouse <br />movements as some mice marked in This habitat have been recaptured in the adjacent <br />mountain shrub and in the distant riparian habitat along Trout Creek. <br />Summary <br />Seasonal rodent abundance was highest in the reclaimed gross (no topsoil) <br />compared to aspen, riparian and mountain shrub habitats (p < 0.05). Aspen rodent <br />abundance was lowest when compared to mountain shrub, sagebrush, unreclaimed and <br />reclaimed grass habitats (p< 0.05). Seasonal abundance was highest for all habitat <br />types for the month of September 1979 compared to the months of November 1979, <br />May and July 1980. Riparian habitat maintained the highest diversity index on a <br />seasonal basis when compared to all other habitat types (p<0.01) and reclaimed grass <br />and unreclaimed habitats maintained the lowest diversity when compared to all <br />habitat types. Diversity reached its highest values for the months of May and July <br />• 1980 (p < 0.01). Diversify increased os seasonal rodent abundance declined in 1980. <br />Based on similiarity indices (Colwell and Futuyma 1971), the reclaimed gross <br />without Topsoil and the unreclaimed spoils were most similar in rodent and species <br />composition (0.8400). None of the other habitats which were trapped by grids in <br />September had an index exceeding 0.8000 when compared to each other. <br />In summary, the monoculture of grasses in the reclaimed areas supports a low <br />diversity and high rodent density and abundance. The variability of habitats in the <br />unreclaimed spoils support a high diversity/low density rodent population. Among the <br />undisturbed habitats, the riparian area along Trout Creek supports a consistently high <br />diversity rodent population at high density and abundance. Mountain shrub and aspen <br />also support high diverse rodent populations at moderate densities and abundance. <br />Sagebrush supports a moderate diversity, density and abundance. <br />2.7.2.3 Aquatic Biology <br />Habitat Description <br />• Trout Creek and Ook Creek lie in the upper Colorado River basin in <br />northwestern Colorado and flow Through the eastern edge of The Yampa coal field. <br />2.7-38 <br />