Mammal Surveys in Great Basin National Park:

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Mammal Surveys in Great Basin National
Park Assessment of Historical Faunal Change
Eric Rickart Shannen Robson
Utah Museum of Natural History University of Utah
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METHODS
Historical data sources
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) 1929-1939
field surveys
Other records 1940-1990 Publications
MaNIS museum network
Recent data sources
UMNH-FMNH survey 2000
NPS IM (UMNH) 2002-2003
GRBA sight reports 1994-2004
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GENERAL SURVEY RESULTS
(non-volant mammals)
Historical records (pre-1990) Park
390 records 31 species
Park region 893 records 48
species
Recent surveys (2000-2003) 4379 trap
nights 642 records 26 species
GRBA sight reports
366 reports 22 species
Species Totals
Park Greater region Non-volants
42 54
Total (incl. bats) 49
67
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Shrews (small mammal exemplars)
Uncommon habitat specialists
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Historical change
2003
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Resurvey protocol
Local site assessments
Relocate historical collecting sites that were
densely sampled
Determine historical sampling effort
Do comparable modern sampling
Assess habitat changes (notes and photographs)
Interpret local faunal changes
Broader scale (landscape) assessments
Shifts in elevation ranges of species
Specimen counts as a proxy for effort
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Survey localities
Historical Recent Survey comparison
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Resurvey comparisons
-- Four elevation bins
Historical
Modern Elevation
(1929-1939) (2000-2003)
records species
records species
Low 5300-6700 ft 67
10 65 12
(ca. 1600-2050 m) Mid
7000-8000 ft 125 14
56 7 (ca.
2150-2450 m) High 8100-10500 ft
79 7 80
8 (ca. 2450-3200 m) Alpine
10700-11200 ft 30
7 28 5
(ca. 3250-3400 m)
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Low elevation
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Low elevation
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Mid elevation
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Mid elevation
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High elevation
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High elevation
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Alpine
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Alpine
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Species responding to loss/shift of sagebrush
habitat
Great Basin pocket mouse (Perognathus parvus)
Least chipmunk (Tamias minimus)
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Species increasing with spread of piñon-juniper
Piñon mouse (Peromyscus truei)
Uinta chipmunk (Tamias umbrinus)
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Species responding to cheatgrass invasion
Expanding
Harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis)
Long-tailed vole (Microtus longicaudus)
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Declining woodrats
Bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea)
Desert woodrat (Neotoma lepida)
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Uncommon species
Yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris)
Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)
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Keystone species
Cougar (Puma concolor)
Beaver (Castor canadensis)
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Acknowledgements