The Response of Native Vertebrate Populations to Crested Wheatgrass Planting and Grazing by Sheep

Reynolds, Timothy D.; Trost, Charles H.

doi:10.2307/3898425

Cited by 82 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Diller and Wallace (1996), for example, reported capturing more western rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) and gopher snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) in big sagebrush communities than in winterfat (Ceratoides lanata), shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia), greasewood, and grassland communities. Studying the response of native vertebrate populations to crested wheatgrass plantings, Reynolds and Trost (1980b) (also see Reynolds 1979a) noted greater numbers of short-horned lizards (Phrynosoma douglassii), sagebrush lizards (Sceloporus graciosus), and gopher snakes in big sagebrush than in crested wheatgrass plantings.…”

Section: Reptilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Big sagebrush: A sea fragmented into lakes, ponds, and puddles

Welch¹

2005

107

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Pioneers traveling along the Oregon Trail from western Nebraska, through Wyoming and southern Idaho and into eastern Oregon, referred to their travel as an 800 mile journey through a sea of sagebrush, mainly big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Today approximately 50 percent of the sagebrush sea has given way to agriculture, cities and towns, and other human developments. What remains is further fragmented by range management practices, creeping expansion of woodlands, alien weed species, and the historic view that big sagebrush is a worthless plant. Two ideas are promoted in this report: (1) big sagebrush is a nursing mother to a host of organisms that range from microscopic fungi to large mammals, and (2) many range management practices applied to big sagebrush ecosystems are not science based.

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Section: Reptilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Big sagebrush: A sea fragmented into lakes, ponds, and puddles

Welch¹

2005

107

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“…Most notably, R. megalotus was only detected on Ungrazed1 and Chaetodipus californicus abundance was much greater on Ungrazed1 than Grazed1. Like the current study, Reynolds and Trost (1980) also observed lower small mammal species richness in grazed areas.…”

Section: Small Mammalssupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Studies of a variety of animal taxa tended to observe reduced species richness and relative abundance at grazed areas relative to ungrazed areas. For example, a small mammal study in Idaho observed a reduction in diversity and density on grazed sites (Reynolds and Trost, 1980). In Utah, a study investigated the response of passerines, raptors and small mammals to the removal of livestock grazing for an eight year period.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Ecological Effects of Cattle Grazing on Reptiles and Small Mammals in a San Joaquin Valley Grassland

Tom¹

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Livestock grazing is a common and extensive land use practice in the United States occurring in a wide range of habitat types. As such, livestock grazing has the potential to alter ecosystem structure, function and community composition. The primary component (Chapter 1) of this thesis examined the effects of cattle grazing in a San Joaquin Valley grassland on two target taxa: reptiles and small mammals. The study took place on the Chimineas Unit of the Carrizo Ecological Reserve, San Luis Obispo County, California during Fall 2009 and Spring 2010. These taxa were sampled on matched pairs of two grazed and two ungrazed sites. Live trapping methods appropriate to sampling reptiles (coverboards and pit fall traps) and small mammals (Sherman live traps) were used to determine species richness and abundance of these taxa. Uta stansburiana (sideblotched lizard) abundances were greatest on Ungrazed1 (Fall: 1.75±0.49 captures/night, Spring: 3.58±0.35 captures/night). In addition, Chaetodipus californicus (Spiny pocket mouse) abundance was also greatest on Ungrazed1. Population estimates generated by Program CAPTURE suggest C. californicus could be 6.27 times more abundant on Ungrazed1 than Grazed1. However, sample size issues and site level effects confounded and made it difficult to determine significant differences between the grazed and ungrazed treatments for both reptile and small mammal taxa. Habitat structure at these sites was also evaluated including small mammal burrow abundance and vegetation structure. Again, differences between the grazed and ungrazed pasture could not be discerned because of site level effects occurring among matched pairs. As such, this thesis illustrates the difficulty in studying grazing and its potential effects on biotic systems because an array of variables can make unclear the differences between grazed and ungrazed areas. As a follow up study (Chapter 2) I used logistic regression to model U. stansburiana presence to examine possible sources of variation observed at trapping array locations utilized in the main study (Chapter 1). Shrubs exhibited a quasi-complete separation of data points and the three best models included: 1) Bare soil cover (AICc = 28.12), 2) Holes (AICc = 29.76), and 3) Bare soil cover + Holes (AICc = 29.90). Shrubs, bare soil cover and small mammal burrow density were all positively associated with U. stansburiana presence at array locations. Although species have general habitat requirements based upon their ecology and evolution, variations in habitat utilization exists depending upon the resources present at a specific location. Quantifying basic ecological information on a site specific basis is important to managing populations by identifying important resources and habitat components utilized by a given species on a given site. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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“…Some exotic species, such as crested wheatgrass are planted extensively, particularly when reseeding burned or mined areas or when shrublands are converted to grasslands. Crested wheatgrass plantings result in a near monoculture, and change the vegetation physiognomy and degrade the soil characteristics, severely reducing the diversity and density of small mammal populations (Reynolds and Trost 1980). Small mammals are primarily vegetarians, feeding on a variety of seeds and other herbaceous material.…”

Section: Exotic Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nesting Behavior, Provisioning Rates, and Parental Roles of Ferruginous Hawks in New Mexico

Keeley

Bechard²

2017

Journal of Raptor Research

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The Response of Native Vertebrate Populations to Crested Wheatgrass Planting and Grazing by Sheep

Abstract: Native vertebrate population levels were examined in grazed and ungrazed habitats dominated by big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) in

Cited by 82 publications

References 2 publications

Big sagebrush: A sea fragmented into lakes, ponds, and puddles

Big sagebrush: A sea fragmented into lakes, ponds, and puddles

The Ecological Effects of Cattle Grazing on Reptiles and Small Mammals in a San Joaquin Valley Grassland

Nesting Behavior, Provisioning Rates, and Parental Roles of Ferruginous Hawks in New Mexico

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