Mammals of Southwestern Arkansas Part II. Rodents Tim W
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Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science Volume 43 Article 27 1989 Mammals of Southwestern Arkansas Part II. Rodents Tim W. Steward Arkansas State University V. Rick McDaniel Arkansas State University Daniel R. England Southern Arkansas University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas Part of the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Steward, Tim W.; McDaniel, V. Rick; and England, Daniel R. (1989) "Mammals of Southwestern Arkansas Part II. Rodents," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 43 , Article 27. Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol43/iss1/27 This article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 43 [1989], Art. 27 THE MAMMALSOF SOUTHWESTERN ARKANSAS PART II.RODENTS T.W. STEWARD, V. RICK McDANIELand DANIELR. ENGLAND* Department of Biological Science Arkansas State University * State University, AR 72467 Department of Biology, Southern Arkansas University Magnolia, AR 7 1753 ABSTRACT This study investigated the composition and habitat affinities ofthe mammalian fauna of southwestern Arkansas. The study area was comprised of the 21 counties located south and/or west of and including Pulaski County. The previously existing data set pertaining to the mammals of Arkansas was notably in- complete and this study area inparticular, was poorly knownmammalogically. Specimens were collected by standard trapping and salvage methods throughout the study area. The mammals considered during this study were limited to those species meeting a set of criteria designed to eliminate species that had been introduced or artificiallymaintained. This study has accumulated records of 25 species of rodents; over 1500 specimens have been recorded; and a total of 95 new county records have been documented. INTRODUCTION Habitat characteristics examined included: predominant vegetation, substrate composition, topography, successional stage, and develop- A reliable understanding of an area's ecosystem can not be ac- mental stage. These characteristics were not considered on an individual complished unless it is known of what that ecosystem is comprised basis, but instead were considered to be attributes of overall habitat biotically and abiotically. This realization is accentuated by the increase at any given location. These data could be valuable for evaluating the in the number of local, state, and federal agencies that have been possibility ofencountering a desired species ofmammal based onhabitat studying aspects ofthe environment beyond those involving only recrea- parameters. tional oreconomic considerations. These agencies agree that the more The dominant vegetation of the study area included oak-hickory complete the knowledge of a studied area, the more efficiently the area climax forests, loblolly pine forests, cedar glades, brush and grash fields, can be managed and utilized. Consequently, many states are at- and agricultural cropland. Substrates varied from deep sands and clays tempting to compile a complete data set oftheir natural resources. In ofthe flood plains, to rocky cliffs and outcroppings ofthe mountains, Arkansas, the need for information on resources is intense. The pres- and to tracts of rich loams with scattered swampy areas. ent study, then, attempts to increase the data set available on the The term "developmental stage" refers to the extent to which a site mammalian resources of southwestern Arkansas (an area previously has been changed fromitsnormal ecological conditionby the activities only poorly known mammalogically). (intentional or inadvertent) of man. These activities include commer- There are relatively few studies on the distribution of mammals in cial,private, orgovernmental developments, such as city growth, road southwestern Arkansas. For the state as a whole, the information construction, farming, and development of recreational areas. available ranges from nonexistent to nearly complete depending onthe For the purposes of this study, mammals were included ifthey met species and area of concern. Black (1936) made the earliest study of the following criteria: the distribution of Arkansas mammals. His study was limited to 1. The species is not a recently escaped exotic. northwestern Arkansas and contained limited habitat information. 2. The species has not been recently introduced or Dellinger and Black (1940) attempted the first statewide inventory (reiniroduced) to the area by other than those ave- of Arkansas mammals. However, this study included little infor- nues naturally open to native species. mation on the mammals of southwestern Arkansas and almost no 3. The species' presence in the area is not a result of information on the habitats ofmammals. The data were often restricted current or very recent artificial management or to one or two specimens from as many locations. controlprocedures (ie., the stocking ofgame animals One ofthe firstsystematic distributional studies for southern Arkansas into the area from some other area). was conducted by Baker and Ward (1967). They reported on the distribu- 4. The record(s) is(are) not likely to be considered tion of nine species of bats in the southeastern portion of the state spurious. (Bradley, Cleveland, and Drew counties). Finally, only those sight records from acceptably knowledgeable Sealander (1956, 1979) made the first comprehensive studies at- persons and for those species for which misidentification is not likely tempting to establish accurate distributions for the Arkansas mammalian were used. Inmost instances, sight records were corroborated by the fauna. His distributions were based on previous literature records, his capture of the same species|es rromfrom a nearby area. s^v personal collections, the collections of other researchers, and repots of sight observations. Although quite valuable, Sealander's book lacked data from many areas, particularly from southwestern Arkansas. METHODS / The purposes of the prsent study were to establish, as completely as possible, the current distributions of the mammalian species found in Numerous field collections were conducted throughout the period southwestern Arkansas and to present data on habitat affinitiesof these of this study by various individuals including Arkansas Game and Fish mammals. personnel, university personnel, public school teachers and their classes, graduate students, and other knowledgeable laypeople. A variety of collection methods were necessitated by the different STUDY AREA habits and life-styles of the mammals encountered in the study area. Sight identificationof and collection ofsome road-kill specimens, par- The study area comprises 21 counties located south and/or west of, ticularly of larger species, resulted in many of the records accumulated and including, Pulaski County. Within this area of the state, habitats for larger mammals and for those difficult toobtain by traditional col- vary widely from the rollinghills and rocky outcroppings ofthe Ouachita lection methods. Sight identification of living specimens was made on Mountains in the northern portion, to forested hillsand cultivated tracts only a few occasions, when accurate identification was assured. of land, to the sandy flood plains found throughout the southern Small terrestrial mammals were most often collected withcommer- portion of the area. ciallyavailable killand live traps. These traps were placed strategically Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1989 Science, 43, 88 88 Proceedings Arkansas Academy off Vol. 1989 Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 43 [1989], Art. 27 T.W. Steward, V. Rick McDaniel and Daniel R. England and were baited witha variety ofmixtures, including commercial peanut described as a deciduous forest. This small squirrel is a rarity to most butter, fatand grease, meat, vegetables, fruits, and other edible items. people ofthe area and they are usually unaware ofits actual abundance. Considerable information was provided by analysis of a collection Heidt (1977) reported that this species commonly used nesting boxes of owl pellets removed from a roost in Hempstead County (Steward in a study inSaline County. We have 11 specimens from fivecounties etal., 1988). of the study area (Table 1). Allof these specimens were taken from Specimens were prepared as standard museum skin and/or skeletal human dwellings. preparations. The specimens were deposited in the Arkansas State University Collection of Recent Mammals. The habitat composition of the study area was determined by a variety Table 1. Sciuridae, Geomyidae and Cricetedae (Part I) from South- of methods. Inmost cases, a brief description of the habitat in which western Arkansas. the specimen was collected was included with the standard collection Countv\Species data. In those cases where habitat information was not available, the 123 4 5 6 -7 8 910 Calhoun 1 1 - - - - most probable habitat for the collection site was determined. This deter- Clark -. mination