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Habitat Preferences and Distribution of Mammals in California Chaparral

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Habitat Preferences and Distribution of Mammals in California Chaparral Untted States Department of Agrtc~~lture Habitat Preferences and Forest Se~lce Pac~f~cSouthwest Research Station Distribution of Mammals Research Paper PSw-202 in California Chaparral Ronald D. Quinn Quinn.RonaldD. 1990. HabltatprfffrcneesnnddbtrlbutionofmammCrnl~ chaparral. Rw. Paper PSW-u)2. Berkeley. CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Farest Service. U.S. Depanmmt of Agriculture: 11 p. Fany-nine species of mammals regularly occur in California chaparral, but none lives onlyinchaparral.Amongthe49spc~~.7arefoundprimarilyinmatun~h~parra1,9inywng~. chapaml or along ecotones buwm chapvral and othcrplant commkiucr, and 19 m riparian amas. Fivc species occur m many habitats but prefer chaparral in Califamra, and 9 have wide ranaes- that cncameass manv communities hcludine-. chaoarral. Bv alterine" the suuctureoftheplantcmmunity,fireinchapamlisimpoltantindeteminingthedinribution and abundance of mammalian .populations. Fire is not wmanently destructive to the mammalian fauna. Wildlife habitat can be optimized by maintaining chaparral in many age clarrer, by restricting fuel reduction tmtments to 1 to 1W ha, by. .emtectine all trees, and by enhancing water sources. A given area of chapand contains two to four commm, and two to nine total, species of dents. Seeds. fruits, and young vegetative growth are the most immltant elant foods in chaeaml. Onlv. 12 roccicr. of mammals anendemic to chaoaml.. because of the limited opportunity in both lime and space for spccistim to occur. Only kangamo rats (Dipodomys) and chipunks (Euromios) have rpeciated in chaparral. ReIricval Term: wildlife, fire, plant community, ecology, California The Author: Ronald D. Qulnn is s professor of biological sciences at Califomia Stale Polytechnic University. Pmons, Califomia, and s Slation moperator. This papcr war pnscntcd at the Symposium on theClarrificationand Distribution of Califomia ~h~~arral~~r~rterns,hcld inconjunction with the 60th Annual Meeting. Westem Society of Naturalirtr,Deeemkr 28, 1979, Pomana. It has since then been =vised and updated. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work war supported by acmperativcagrrm6ntwiIhththe PacificSouthwertRerearch Station. I thank Barbara Ellis-Quinn. Peter Csrtm, Gilbert Bmm, and Glenn Stewsn for reviewing earlier drafts of this paper. Publisher: Pacific Southwest Research Station P.O. Box 245, Berkeley, California 94701 September 1990 Habitat Preferences and Distribution of Mammals in California Chaparral Ronald D . Quinn CONTENTS .. In Brief .............................................................................................................................. 11 Introduction .......................................................................................................................1 Habitat Preferences of Chaparral Mammals ................................................................. 1 Mature chaparral ...................................................................................................... 1 Disturbed or Open Chaparral ................................................................................... 2 Riparian Areas .......................................................................................................... 4 Widespread Chaparral Species ................................................................................. 5 Species Occumng in Many Habitats ........................................................................ 5 Habitat Management ...................................................................................................... 7 Community Structure .....................................................................................................8 Evolution of Endemic Species ................................................................................. 8 Widespread Species .................................................................................................. 8 Species Numbers and Population Densities ............................................................. 9 Plant Foods ............................................................................................................... 9 References .......................... ............................................................................................9 USDA Forest Service Rer . Papcr PSW-202. 1990. Quinn,Ronald D. 1990. Habitatpreferencesand distribution of mammals in California chaparral. Res. PaperPSW-202. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 11 p. Rerrieval Terms: wildlife, fire, plant community, ecology, California This first systematic review of all species of mammals in- Fire affects the distribution and abundance of mammalian habiting California chaparral responds to a growing interest in populations in chaparral by altering the sbucture of the plant the understanding and management of chaparral ecosystems. community and the availability of many foods. Fire does not Forty-nine species of mammals regularly occur in California permanently destroy the mammalian community. Patches of chaparral, but none lives only in chaparral. Among the 49 unburned chaparral serveas refugia andcenters of dispersal for species, 7 species (6 rodents and 1rabbit) are found primarily in mammalian populations colonizing burns. Mammal population mature chaparral, 9 species (the mule deer and 9 rodents, densities and distributions shift in response to the mosaic of including 5 kangaroo rats) in young chaparral or along ecotones plant age classes created by fires, and to thenetwork of ecotones between chaparral andother plant communities, and 19 species between classes. Between fires the abundancesofrodent species (12 bats and 7 terrestrial species) in riparian areas. Five species change as each responds to its particular habitat requirements occur in many habitats but prefer chaparral in California, and against the background of a changing plant community. nine other species have wide ranges that encompass many Management of the vegetation affects the presence and communities, including chaparral. abundances of mammalian species. Wildlife habitat can be An area of chaparral (0.5 to 6.8 ha) generally contains two to optimized for the community as a whole by maintaining chap- four common, and two to nine total, species of rodents. Seeds, arral in many age classes, by confining fuelreduction treatments fruits, and young vegetation growth are the mostimportant plant to 1 to 100 ha, by protecting all native trees, and by protecting foods in chaparral. and enhancing all sources of surface water. USDA Fomr Servicc Res. Paper PSW-202.1990. INTRODUCTION alifornia chaparral is composed of several plant associa- tions found from the Oregon border on the north to Cnorthern Baja California on the south, occumng from HABITAT PREFERENCES nearsealevel toabout3000m (Hanes 1977,1981). In thispaper the term "chaparral" refers only to the community of evergreen OF CHAPARRAL MAMMALS woody shrubs of the hills and the lower mountain slopes of California and northern Baja California. Despite the great geographical and floral diversity of chaparral, relatively few species of mammals are found in any given location and fewer still are classified as exclusive chapanal inhabitants. Mature Chaparral Forty-nine species of mammals regularly occur in California chaparral, but none lives only in chaparral. Among the 49 Mature chaparral contains shrubs, 1 to 3 m in height, that species, 7 are found primarily in mature chaparral, 9 in young provide dense vegetativecover of 50 to 100 percent for wildlife. chaparral or along ecotones between chaparral and other plant The first seven species of mammals listed in table 1, six rodents communities, and 19 in riparian areas. Five species occur in and one lagomorph, are found in mature chaparral, but are many habitats butpreferchaparral in California.and9 have wide uncommon or absent in other habitats. ranges that encompass many communities includingchaparral. The brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmni) is a wary species that Although interest in the mammals of the Californiachaparral uses mature chaparral for cover, and feeds in openings near has grown, much of this interest bas focused on only a few shrubs. In California the rangeof this species is congruent with species. For example, a great deal has been written about the the California chaparral. ecology and management of deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in The California pocket mouse (Perognathus californicus) is chaparral (Dasmann 1962: Dixon 1934: Taber and Dasmann found only in chaparral and associated plant communities. The 1958; also see Umess 1981, and Wallmo and others 1981 for occurrence of this species appears to be spotty, and population recent reviews). In recent years several researchers have inves- densitiesare variable (Tucker 1966, Wutz 1977). Somestudies tigated the rodents of chaparral as a convenient vehicle for in voune chaoarral have shown ~0~ketmice to be rare members studyinggeneralquestions of community organization (Bradford ofjle roden;community (~amks1978: Quinn 1979). On the 1976; Cames 1978; Glanz 1977; Lubina 1978; Mese~e1976b. otherhand, Wutz(1977,1981)found thatthisspeciescomprised 1977; Nicholson 1978; Quinn 1979; Spevak 1983). A system- asmuchas50 to61 percentof all smallmammalcaptures in both aticreview of all49 mammalian species thatoccur in chaparral, mature and recently burned chaparral. The California pocket however, has been lacking. mouse prefers edges between chaparral and other plant commu- Thispaper describes each species
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