Master's Theses

Document Type

Thesis - campus only access

Date of Award

Spring 1993

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biology

Advisor

Jerry R. Choate

Abstract

I estimated habitat breadths, characterized by type of range site, plant community, ground cover, and vegetation type, for six species of small mammals at Fort Riley Military Reservation, northeastern Kansas, in 1990, 1991, and 1992. A mean habitat breadth was t hen calculated for each species using the data for 1990 and 1991. These mean habitat breadths for the two years with "normal disturbance” then were compared with habitat breadths for 1992, when extreme disturbance existed at many of the transects. The purpose of this comparison was to test the hypothesis that habitat breadths calculated for 1990 and 1991 had predictive value with respect to habitat alterations that occurred in 1992. According to the overall data for 1990 and 1991, I hypothesized that R. megalotis, P. maniculatus, and M. ochrogaster would be tolerant to habitat alterations, P. leucopus would be moderately tolerant, and both C. hispidus and S. hispidus would be intolerant with respect to habitat perturbations in 1992. However, when the data from 1992 were computed the hypotheses with respect to tolerance were entirely invalidated, except for C. hispidus and S. hispidus which remained intolerant. Both B. megalotis and E. maniculatus shifted from tolerant to moderately tolerant, and M. ochrogaster made the most dramatic shift from tolerant in both 1990 and 1991 to intolerant in 1992. P. leucopus was the only species that increased from moderately tolerant in both 1990 and 1991, to tolerant in 1992.

Comments

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Rights

© 1993 Eric R. Schreiber

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