Santa Cruz Island Reserve

15 Apr, 04 AM - 19 Apr, 07 AM

The purpose of this research is to gather information to compare small mammal population size among several of the Channel Islands. There are extensive, multi-year small mammal trapping data sets available for Santa Barbara and San Miguel Islands. There is limited data available for Anacapa, San Nicholas, Santa Catalina and Santa Cruz Islands. Existing data shows a trend toward low mouse numbers without wide fluctuations on large islands with foxes and numbers that fluctuate from very high to very low on small islands without foxes. The purpose of this study is to collect systematic, concurrent data on a series of large and small islands to attemp to verify and further understand this pattern. On Santa Cruz Island, the Nature Conservancy conducted small mammal monitoring during the 1980's on several small grids scattered around the island. We propose to trap at a representative grassland and shrubland grid from this earlier work, enlarging it to the 10x10 size used by Channel Islands NP, using a mark-recapture technique for three consecutive trap nights per grid. We will trap animals in Sherman live traps using oats for bait and will ear tag, weigh, sex and record reproductive state for the captures. We will sample semi-annually in the Spring and Fall.

Visit #9550 @Santa Cruz Island Reserve

Approved

Under Project # 1450 | Research

USGS Colorado Plateau Field Station -

research_scientist - US Geological Survey

Reservation Members(s)

Charles Drost Apr 15 - 19, 2006 (5 days)
Charles Drost Apr 15 - 19, 2006 (5 days)

Reserve Resources(s) | Create Invoice

Dorm 2 Apr 15 - 19, 2006
Jeep 2 Apr 15 - 19, 2006