02685nas a2200265   4500008004100000245010400041210006900145300001300214490000800227520188700235653001402122653002902136653001402165653002302179653001802202653002302220653001702243653002502260653001702285653002202302100001802324700001802342700001802360856004102378       2011                        eng d00aAbundance and spatiotemporal distribution of the non-native house mouse in native tallgrass prairie0 aAbundance and spatiotemporal distribution of the nonnative house  a217 -2300 v1143 a<p>We have sampled small mammals on the Konza Prairie Biological Station, in eastern Kansas, from autumn 1981 through the present. One part of this effort has involved sampling rodents and shrews on 14 permanent traplines (20 stations, 15-m interstation intervals and 4 consecutive nights) situated in native tallgrass prairie during each of 29 autumns and 29 springs as well as 6 summers. In these permanent sites, house mice (Mus musculus) were extremely uncommon as illustrated by average abundances of 0.023 mice/100 trap nights (TN) in autumn, 0.022 mice/100 TN in summer and 0.000 mice/100 TN in spring. Precipitation in summer influenced autumn use of tallgrass prairie by house mice; captures only occurred in autumn when precipitation was &ge;300 mm in the previous summer. House mice were slightly more likely (though not significantly) to be captured in lowland than upland or hill slope prairie. The distribution of occurrence was not influenced by fire (burned or unburned) or grazing history (grazed or ungrazed). Over our total trapping efforts on Konza Prairie (sampling on the permanent traplines plus other traplines and grids), we captured only 36 house mice or about 0.01 individual/100 TN. Overall, more males (64%) than females were captured; males, on average, were larger (14.0 g) than females (10.5 g) in body size; females typically were non-reproductive (only one of 13 was pregnant) and individuals typically were trapped only once. Captures were distributed broadly in both space and time and lacked predictability (i.e., exhibited an &ldquo;anti-nested&rdquo; distribution of captures). These and other patterns suggest that most house mice were transients in the tallgrass prairie. Distribution and abundance of house mice also imply that this introduced species is extremely uncommon and likely will never be invasive in native tallgrass prairie.</p>10aabundance10aanti-nested distribution10abody size10aintroduced species10aKonza Prairie10alimestone outcrops10aMus musculus10aplanted brome fields10areproduction10awoodland habitats1 aKaufman, D.W.1 aKaufman, D.M.1 aKaufman, G.A.  uhttps://doi.org/10.1660/062.114.030302405nas a2200253   4500008004100000245006400041210005900105300001100164490000800175520171900183653001401902653001401916653002001930653000901950653001201959653002501971653001701996653002202013653001802035653002102053100001802074700001802092856004102110       2011                        eng d00aThe least shrew on Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas0 aleast shrew on Konza Prairie Biological Station Kansas  a47 -580 v1143 a<p>We report specific locations and attributes of least shrews (Cryptotis parva) captured over a 29-year period on the Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas. We used large, nonfolding Sherman live traps to survey small mammals in native tallgrass prairie habitats (by traplines and grids), woodland habitats (by traplines and grids) and planted brome fields (traplines only). Eighty-seven least shrews were captured over the 29 years of surveys (ca. 350,000 trap nights). Almost all captures (98%) occurred in prairie habitat; 80% of all captures occurred on a prairie grid during a 5-year period. Least shrews on prairie traplines were captured in a variety of topographic positions (upland, hillside slope and lowland) and in burned and unburned prairie, but not in prairie grazed by bison. We captured individuals that ranged in body size from 2.5&ndash;8.0 g. The mean body mass of all captured least shrews was 4.7 g (excluding pregnant females) and, when only adults were included (excluding pregnant females), it was 5.1g. We noted 13 pregnancies among 12 females; the earliest pregnancy was recorded in mid-April and latest in mid-October. Most pregnancies (ca. 70%) were recorded in two months, July and September. Lactating females that were not pregnant were larger in size (5.5 g) than non-reproductive females (4.4 g). Response of least shrews to live traps was not neophobic; and, in fact, about 30% of the shrews were captured on day 1 of a 4-day trapping period on prairie sites. Our data add information about attributes of least shrews living in natural habitats, such as the tallgrass prairie, and support two previous studies, which suggested that least shrews are rare on Konza Prairie.</p>10aabundance10abody size10aCryptotis parva10afire10aGrazing10aplanted brome fields10areproduction10atallgrass prairie10atrap response10awoodland habitat1 aKaufman, G.A.1 aKaufman, D.W.  uhttps://doi.org/10.1660/062.114.010401874nas a2200205   4500008004100000245007300041210006800114300001300182490000800195520120400203653001401407653002301421653002501444653002201469653002201491653002001513100001801533700001801551856009901569       2010                        eng d00aThe meadow jumping mouse on Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas0 ameadow jumping mouse on Konza Prairie Biological Station Kansas  a209 -2160 v1133 aWe report specific locations, habitat associations and attributes of meadow jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius) captured over a 28-year period on the Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas. We used large Sherman live traps to survey small mammals in native tallgrass prairie habitats (by traplines and grids), woodland habitats (by traplines and grids) and planted brome fields (traplines only). Fifteen meadow jumping mice were captured over the 28 years of surveys (a total of >300,000 trap nights). Nine males and six females were captured between late June and October; only a single male was scrotal and no females were visibly reproductively active. Furthermore, meadow jumping mice were from young adult-to-adult body size (13.5–21.0 g), except for a 9.5 g male trapped in mid-October. In terms of habitat association, more meadow jumping mice were captured in woodland habitats than in native prairie (standardized to trapping efforts in each habitat). No jumping mice were captured in brome fields. We conclude that overall the meadow jumping mouse is rare, but might be locally common in some years, on Konza Prairie, which lies near the southwestern edge of its current range distribution.10aabundance10alimestone outcrops10aplanted brome fields10atallgrass prairie10awoodland habitats10aZapus hudsonius1 aKaufman, G.A.1 aKaufman, D.W.  uhttp://lter.konza.ksu.edu/content/meadow-jumping-mouse-konza-prairie-biological-station-kansas