University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Biology ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 7-1-2016 Mammals of the Greater Gila Region Amanda K. Jones Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/biol_etds Recommended Citation Jones, Amanda K.. "Mammals of the Greater Gila Region." (2016). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/biol_etds/123 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biology ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i Amanda K. Jones Candidate Biology Department This thesis is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Thesis Committee: Dr. Joseph Cook, Chairperson Dr. David Schmidly Dr. Ernie Valdez ii MAMMALS OF THE GREATER GILA REGION by AMANDA K. JONES BACHELORS OF SCIENCE IN BIOLOGY THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Biology The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico July 2016 iii Acknowledgments: I first want to thank my advisor, Joe Cook, for believing in me enough to give me this wonderful opportunity, and for your endless help on all aspects of this endeavor. You were an exceptional advisor. Your patience and humor were invaluable in helping me finish this project. I want to thank my committee members, Dave Schmidly and Ernie Valdez, for their help in the field, for their assistance with scientific guidance and editing, help identifying specimens, and for their collectively great attitudes. I also want to thank my Cook lab mates, especially Schuyler Liphardt, for their help in the field and the lab. Thanks to Jon Dunnum for so much help in identifying specimens. Many other people made this project possible. Steve Dobrott, thank you for your easy-going attitude, professional insight, and (of course) your willingness to grant me access to the ranch! Thanks to Travis Perry for your insight and experience, as well as your willingness to share data. Thanks to Dan Warren for your tireless efforts to capture shrews, and your great note-taking abilities. Thanks to Steve MacDonald for reviewing the manuscript and for pers. comms information. Thanks to Jeff Lehmer for your helpful expertise in the field of furbearers, and for carcasses. Thanks to Herman Gutierrez for being a liaison into an important collecting locality, and for opening your home to us. Special thanks to the staff at the Smithsonian National Museum, American Museum of Natural History, and Western New Mexico University Museum for access to their mammal collections. Thanks also to my funding sources, UNM Dean’s Office (Turner Fund), UNM GPSA, UNM BGSA, and Joseph Gaudin Scholariship. And lastly, thanks to my husband, Zach. I absolutely could not have even begun to do this without you. Your love, support, and willingness to pick up the slack while I pursued my passions means more than you’ll ever know. Your help in the field, your remembrance of random scientific names, and your pit-fall digging abilities are second to none. iv Abstract The Greater Gila Region is an important area for study of mammals due to its unique physiographic history, leading to high elevational relief and many associated habitats. Due to the variety of habitats, the Gila is home to a very diverse assemblage of mammal fauna: 100 native species, 95 of which are extant in the region. This paper documents these species’ current and historic distributions, taxonomy, habitat affinities, current phylogeographic studies, reproductive timing, and any other pertinent information. In addition, novel phylogeographic studies for four selected species were performed to fill in gaps in previous studies where Gila sampling was lacking. Conservation recommendations (for both specific taxa and habitats) are made based on all the above information. v Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................vi List of Tables .................................................................................................vii Introduction ....................................................................................................1 Materials and Methods ................................................................................... Site Description .......................................................................................3 Physiography and Habitat .......................................................................4 Major Vegetation Types .........................................................................6 History of Surveys ..................................................................................8 Climate ....................................................................................................10 Field work ...............................................................................................10 Museum Studies ......................................................................................12 Species Accounts ....................................................................................13 Results ...........................................................................................................14 Faunal Composition ................................................................................14 Species Checklist ....................................................................................14 Extant Species Accounts ..........................................................................15 Extirpated Species Accounts ....................................................................124 Discussion .....................................................................................................127 Deeper Time- Paleontological Record ....................................................127 Phylogeography ......................................................................................128 Species of Concern .................................................................................131 Habitats of Concern ................................................................................137 General Threats to Gila Biota .................................................................138 Conclusions ...................................................................................................141 Appendices ....................................................................................................142 Appendix A: Collecting Localities ...........................................................142 Appendix B: Data Recording Page ..........................................................144 vi Appendix C: Distribution maps ................................................................145 Figures ...........................................................................................................170 Tables ............................................................................................................185 References .....................................................................................................196 vii List of Figures: Figure 1. Map of the Greater Gila Region (Gila). Figure 2. Number of specimens collected by decade and county,1851 through 2014. Figure 3. Land ownership in the Gila. Figure 4. Some 33 species of mammals have their distributional limit in the Gila. Figure 5. Photos (location) of habitats of the Gila as defined in this study: Figure 6. Bruce J. Hayward (deceased), professor emeritus at WNMU. Figure 7. Annual precipitation records for the Gila for 1912-2014. Figure 8. Annual temperature records for the Gila for 1912-2014. Figure 9. Mammalian collecting localities for the Gila. Figure 10. Camera-trap localities on the Ladder Ranch. Figure 11. Number of specimens held by the institutions with largest Gila holdings. Figure 12. Phylogeographic variation in desert shrews. Figure 13. Rabies occurrence in the Gila. Figure 14. Photo capture rate. Figure 15. Phylogeographic variation in Neotoma albigula and Neotoma leucodon. Figure 16. Phylogeographic variation in the flavus pocket mouse. Figure 17. Phylogeographic variation in Bottae’s pocket gopher. viii List of Tables: Table 1. Dominant plant species that are characteristic of mammalian habitats. Table 2. Bat species captured during Perry et al.’s (2001) survey on the Ladder Ranch and species captured during 2012-2014 on the Ladder Ranch. Table 3. Numbers of furbearers captured by commercial trappers in the Gila as reported by New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, 2012-2015 (coyotes and skunks not reported as they are not protected and licensing/reporting is not required). Table 4. Reproductive information from museum specimens of rodents collected in the study site (data obtained from http.//arctos.database.museum/SpecimenSearch.cfm,). Table 5. Paleontological sites in the Gila by geological period. Table 6. Mammal fossils listed by site for the Gila. Table 7. Mammal fossils listed by site for the Gila. Table 8. Species of concern as identified by various lists Table 9. Catastrophic fires in the Gila during the 2012-2014 survey (http.//inciweb.nwcg.gov). Table 10. New occurrence and reproductive phenology records for 3 Gila counties for bat species including earliest capture, latest capture, and earliest embryo. 1 INTRODUCTION Biotic surveys over the last 150 years throughout the American