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Section 779.20 (c) Continued. <br />• bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea), long-tailed vole (Microtus <br />longicaudus), and muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus). Additional small <br />mammal species were identified in the area by Dames and Ptoore <br />(1975). These included: Colorado chipmunk (Eutamias quadrivittatus), <br />white-tailed prairie dog (Cyr.omys leucurus), southern red-backed <br />vole (Clethrinomys gapperi), montane vole (Microtus montanus), and <br />western jumping mouse (Zapus princeps). <br />The ubiquitous deer mouse was found over the entire study area during <br />the 1978 investigations. It was most prevalent in the mountain <br />shrub habitat and least abundant in the wet meadow. Least chipmunk <br />were found most frequently in the mountain shrub and were not <br />trapped in either the wet meadow or sagebrush habitat. Richardson's <br />ground squirrels were most abrnaant in wet meadow and semi-open <br />sagebrush communities and rocky, mountain shrub. Golden-mantled <br />ground squirrels were most often observed in mountain shrub, while <br />• northern pocket gopher sign was located in areas of deep loamy <br />soils such as in the aspen community. Comparison of the 1975 and <br />1979 Small Mammal Trapping data indicate that in 1975, six species <br />of small mammals were live trapped while in 1979 only two species <br />were trapped. The discrepancies obtained between these two studies <br />can be attributed largely to the different sampling methodology <br />employed. The snap traps used in the study were often sprung <br />without catching the animal. The species diversity obtained from <br />the 1979 trapping data tend to over-emphasize the abundance of <br />smaller species in relationship to the larger species. <br />A better index for abundance would be to compare the species actually <br />trapped. In 1975, 432 trap nights yielded 14 least chipmunks and <br />43 deer mice. During the 1979 season, 600 trap nights yielded 28 <br />least chipmunks and 124 deer mice. If these data can be used for <br />relative abundance, in 1975, 3.2 percent of the traps caught least <br />chipmunks while in 1979, 4.7 percent caught least chipmunks. In <br />• 1975, trapping efficiency of deer mice was 9.9 percent, while in <br />779-156 <br />