1997-06-13_REPORT - M1981302 (16)

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Buildings and associated surroundings:Areas of human habitation Riparian habitats:The most structurally and compositionally diverse habitat type at this site. Includes a scattered overstory of cottonwood trees. and a mulwayered understory of shrubs,forbs and grasses. There are many combinations of the tree, shrub.and farblgrass understory creating diverse habitats from open marsh to very thick willow patches. Also includes shrubby hillside patches associated with seeps. See Bakeman and Deans(this report)for details. AA of these areas have been trapped extensively, and the meadow jumping mouse has been faaid almost excusivety in the riparian habitats More than 36,000 trap nights in the other habitat types have yielded only one Zopus capture in a rehabilitated grassland that was within 30 m of Woman Creek. This site,and several other sites at Rocky Fiats are within 10 m of wen traveled dirt roads. which do not appear to exclude Zapus from suitable habitat nearby. In some cases it appears that Zapus have crossed these dirt roads, but it is not Gear how readily they will do so. Jumping mica have also been recently at a few sites with limited ponderosa pine(Pens ponderosa) or gambol oak(Qaerars gambeM cover at the Air Force Academy now Colorado Springs(Corn et al., 1995). Both of these sites had heavy gramirwi ilfbrb understories. There is also a report of jumping mice captures an the Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming. but these captures are unconfirmed at this time and need further clarification. There are a few reports in the liiterahire of meadow jumping mice captures in forest cover. but they are rare(Quimby. 1951). The habitat and elevation of the Air Farce Academy captures woub indicate possible sympaby with the western jumping mouse(Z prirroeps). The high elevation captures at the Air Face Academy raise several Questions including: • dksbt union of Zh.prebblvemus Z prirceps; • use of upper elevation habitats by Z h.prebAot and • general dispersal capabilities of Z h.problei. Other surreys have confirmed that jumping mica are found in moist lowland habitats with considerable cover. To our knowledge, meadowjumptng mice have never been captured In: • short grass prairie; • row crop fields; • alfalfa hay fields;and • areas associated with human structures. They have been captured occasionally in: • grass hay fields with nativ rionnadve grass matures; and • lower montane forest habitats. it is dear that the vast majority of meadow jumping mice captured in Colorado and Wyoming occurred in riparian areas, but mice also too adjacent habitats on occasion. Recant tapping aft at Rocky Flab On, 1995)have concentrated trapping efcris in grids which extend over several adjacent habitats, inducing riparian habitafs and the hillside grasslands adjacent to them up to 60 meters away from a stream. When two was an equal chance of capture in several different habitats during the early summer, meadow jumping mice were only found h or adjacent to multi- strata riparian habitats. The importance of these adjacent habitats to foraging and dispersal activity is unknown. 7