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196(.'). Their food mostly consists of bulbs, roots and stems of aquatic <br />vegetation. Muskrat habitat in the study area is l.ihL.t.ed tL the marshy <br />area in the riparian habitat; accordingly, their distribution and abundance <br />is limited on the study area. <br />Three Gunnison's prairie dog towns are located on the study area (Appendix <br />A, Map 2). These towns were fo.uerly one large town but were divided by <br />road construction and mining activities (personal communication, May 31, <br />1979, By Kam). A total of 16 adult prairie dogs were observed during a <br />black- footed ferret survey of these towns in late May, 1979. Gunnison's <br />prairie dogs inhabit open grassy and brushy areas at high elevations, <br />and are restricted in distribution to south - eastern Colorado (Eechleitne_r <br />1969). <br />AVIAUNA <br />Passerine Birds. Breeding and resident wintering passerines in the Nucla <br />study area were surveyed during early June, 1979 and Januazy,1980 along 0.5 km <br />transects placed within major vegetation types represented in the study area. <br />The census technique was designed to quantify passerine abundance; however, <br />all avian species, including raptors and game birds, observed along the <br />transects were counted. The results of the breeding and wintering bird <br />surveys are provided on computer print -outs in Appendix B, Part 2 for each <br />of the five vegetation types sampled (grassland pasture, upland sagebrush, <br />juniper, alfalfa field, and riparian). These print -outs provide relative <br />abundance indices (number of individuals/km) and macrohabitat affinities for <br />each species encountered and Shannon - Weiner species diversity indices for <br />each habitat sanded. A list of all avian species.positively identified <br />for the Nucla study area during this and previous studies is provided in <br />Table 1. <br />n o major topics are considered in the di of breeding and wintering <br />passerine birds. First, the relative it ortance to avifauna of each habitat <br />type sampled is described: Determination of importance focuses on three <br />parameters: species diversity, composition, and abundance. Second, the <br />occurrence, distribution and abundance of important passerine species is <br />discussed. Important species are defined as those with a high relative <br />-11- <br />JUN 1 1 S98Q <br />