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Alexis A. Suazo Research Assistant Public Lands Institute University of Nevada Las Vegas

Alexis A. Suazo Research Assistant Public Lands Institute University of Nevada Las Vegas. Current Projects. Control Methods for Sahara mustard ( Brassica tournefortii ) Spatial distribution during early invasion Role of native granivorous rodents

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Alexis A. Suazo Research Assistant Public Lands Institute University of Nevada Las Vegas

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  1. Alexis A. Suazo Research Assistant Public Lands Institute University of Nevada Las Vegas

  2. Current Projects • Control Methods for Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii ) • Spatial distribution during early invasion • Role of native granivorous rodents • Ants and beetles as potential bio-indicators of restored habitats

  3. Sahara mustard Spatial distribution Control methods

  4. Rodent / Seed interactions Seed predation

  5. Insects

  6. Responses of small mammals to restoration and management techniques of Florida scrub at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida

  7. Florida- Coastal Scrub

  8. After Burning

  9. Remnant scrub • Coastal development and fire suppression • Reduced to small fragmented, isolated patches

  10. Degraded habitat

  11. Urban interface

  12. Management Combination of mechanical treatment followed by prescribed burning

  13. Species Responses • Treatments are effective • Florida scrub-jays Breininger et al. 1995 Conservation Biology 9:1442-1453

  14. What about other species • Plants Lots of studies from Archbold Biological Stations • Amphibians and Reptiles Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) populations are declining in some protected areas McCoy et al. 2006 Biological Conservation 128:120-127 • Small mammals Very little is known

  15. Small mammal research • Objective 1 Document the effects of mechanical fuel reduction, prescribed-burning, and mechanical fuel reduction/prescribed-burning combination treatments on small mammal relative abundance • Objective 2 Examine whether individual body mass and reproductive condition varied among treatments • Objective 3 Examine relationships between Florida scrub-jay and small mammal populations

  16. Broader Application of Research • Based line data for long-term monitoring • Adaptive Management • Aid in planning and management of habitat for multiple species • Incorporate management techniques in recovery of listed species

  17. Small mammals • Southeastern beach mice (Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris) • Endemic • Federally listed • Habitat specialist

  18. Cotton mice • Peromyscus gossypinus • Common • Habitat generalist

  19. Cotton rats • Sigmodon hispidus • Common • Habitat specialist

  20. Study Area Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) near Titusville, FL

  21. Coastal Scrub • Dominant community type • Degraded • 50 yrs of fire suppression • Restoration began in 1995

  22. Methods Burned (N = 5) Cut (N = 6) Cut & Burned&Checkerboarded (N = 4) Fire suppressed (N = 3)

  23. Fire suppressed

  24. Cut

  25. Burned

  26. Cut & Burned & Checkerboarded

  27. Small Mammal Trapping

  28. Individual identification

  29. Data Analysis • Used repeated measures analysis of variance (RM- ANOVA) to test for treatment effects • Seasons were the repeated variable • Response variables first-time captures body mass • Used a G-test reproductive condition

  30. Data Analysis Cont. • Used correlation to examine relationships between FL scrub-jays and southeastern beach mice • Used Bonferroni Multiple Comparison test to differentiate between means • Data met parametric assumptions • Test P< 0.05, were statistically significant

  31. Seasonal abundance Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris (black) P. gossypinus (gray) Sigmodon hispidus (open)

  32. Treatment abundance P. p. niveiventris (black) P. gossypinus (gray) Sigmodon hispidus (open)

  33. Treatment response P. p. niveiventris P. gossypinus Season * treatment, F 9, 42 = 2.66, P = 0.015 Treatment, F 3, 14 = 4.79, P = 0.017 Season * Treatment, F9, 39 = 1.58, P = 0.15 Treatment, F 3, 14 = 1.54, P = 0.246

  34. Body mass 1 S. hispidus P. p. niveiventris 5 4 4 3 32 9 12 8 8 3 22 7 7 2 10 20 9 8 1 1 P. gossypinus 4 2 1 11 17 24 7 9 3 8 12 7 6 7 6 3

  35. Reproduction P. p. niveiventris(females) P. p. niveiventris (males) P. gossypinus(males) P. gossypinus(females)

  36. Reproduction P. p. niveiventris(males) P. p. niveiventris(females) G = 8.148, d. f. = 3, P < 0.05 P. gossypinus(males) P. gossypinus(females)

  37. * Cut but unburned Florida scrub-jay Florida scrub-jay data are from Stevens and Knight 2003-2004 annual report

  38. Relationships r = 0.51, P < 0.05

  39. Conclusion Objective 1 Document treatment effects Land management activities influenced small mammal populations Objective 2 Treatment effects on body mass and reproductive condition No significant responses were found Objective 3 Florida scrub-jay and small mammal populations relations Positive correlation was found, suggesting that both species benefit from management activities

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