Schweiger Brittany R, Frey Jennifer K, Cain James W
Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA.
U.S. Geological Survey, New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA.
J Mammal. 2021 Jul 12;102(5):1249-1265. doi: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab071. eCollection 2021 Oct.
Habitat information for small mammals typically consists of anecdotal descriptions or infrequent analyses of habitat use, which often are reported erroneously as signifying habitat preference, requirements, or quality. Habitat preferences can be determined only by analysis of habitat selection, a behavioral process that results in the disproportionate use of one resource over other available resources and occurs in a hierarchical manner across different environmental scales. North American chipmunks ( and ) are a prime example of the lack of studies on habitat selection for small mammal species. We used the Organ Mountains Colorado chipmunk () as a case study to determine whether previous descriptions of habitat in the literature were upheld in a multiscale habitat selection context. We tracked VHF radiocollared chipmunks and collected habitat information at used and available locations to analyze habitat selection at three scales: second order (i.e., home range), third order (i.e., within home range), and microhabitat scales. Mean home range was 2.55 ha ± 1.55 and did not differ between sexes. At the second and third order, avoided a coniferous forest land cover type and favored particular areas of arroyos (gullies) that were relatively steep-sided and greener and contained montane scrub land cover type. At the microhabitat scale, chipmunks selected areas that had greater woody plant diversity, rock ground cover, and ground cover of coarse woody debris. We concluded that habitat selection by fundamentally was different from descriptions of habitat in the literature that described as primarily associated with coniferous forests. We suggest that arroyos, which are unique and rare on the landscape, function as climate refugia for these chipmunks because they create a cool, wet microclimate. Our findings demonstrate the importance of conducting multiscale habitat selection studies for small mammals to ensure that defensible and enduring habitat information is available to support appropriate conservation and management actions.
小型哺乳动物的栖息地信息通常包括轶事性描述或对栖息地利用情况的不频繁分析，而这些往往被错误地报道为表明栖息地偏好、需求或质量。只有通过对栖息地选择的分析才能确定栖息地偏好，栖息地选择是一个行为过程，导致对一种资源的使用超过其他可用资源，并且在不同的环境尺度上以层次化方式发生。北美花栗鼠（ ）就是小型哺乳动物物种缺乏栖息地选择研究的一个典型例子。我们以奥陶山脉科罗拉多花栗鼠（ ）为例进行研究，以确定文献中先前对栖息地的描述在多尺度栖息地选择背景下是否成立。我们追踪了佩戴甚高频无线电项圈的花栗鼠，并在其使用的和可用的地点收集栖息地信息，以分析三个尺度上的栖息地选择：二阶尺度（即家域）、三阶尺度（即在家域内）和微生境尺度。平均家域面积为2.55公顷±1.55 ，且两性之间没有差异。在二阶和三阶尺度上， 避开针叶林土地覆盖类型，偏好相对陡峭且更绿、包含山地灌丛林地覆盖类型的特定沟壑区域。在微生境尺度上，花栗鼠选择了木本植物多样性更高、有岩石地被物和粗大木质残体地被物的区域。我们得出结论， 的栖息地选择与文献中描述其主要与针叶林相关的栖息地描述有根本不同。我们认为，在景观中独特且稀有的沟壑，对这些花栗鼠起到了气候避难所的作用，因为它们创造了凉爽、潮湿的微气候。我们的研究结果表明，对小型哺乳动物进行多尺度栖息地选择研究非常重要，以确保能获得可靠且持久的栖息地信息，来支持适当的保护和管理行动。
