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 Control methods Spatial distribution

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

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

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. Numeric Data Fall (%)Winter (%)Spring (%)Summer (%) P. p. niveiventris 42 (12.8)66 (20.1)137 (41.8)83 (25.3) P. gossypinus 37 (11.9)67 (21.6)114 (36.8)92 (29.7) S. hispidus 13 (31.7)3 (7.3) 22 (53.7)

32. Descriptive data SpeciesNumber of first time-captures P. p. niveiventris 146 P. gossypinus 130 Sigmodon hispidus 33

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

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

35. 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, F 9, 39 = 1.58, P = 0.15 Treatment, F 3, 14 = 1.54, P = 0.246

36. Body mass P. p. niveiventris P. gossypinus S. hispidus 3 1 3 5 4 88 6 7 4 1 7 6 3 2 9 12 24 1711 8 7 3 1 1 8 10 12 4 2 9 77 9 32 20 22

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

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

39. Florida scrub-jay Florida scrub-jay groups using compartments Southeastern beach mouse Compartment Area (ha) (burned) 2004 Census Breeding SeasonNestingFledgingNumber of first-time captures 493(40)1088024 715(15)4764 12 377(7)231220 *4819(0)133114 *678(0)02003 6924(0)231011 8113(0)34104 8723(12)121326 10112(0)15205 *1024(0)040N/A7 *1046(0)534411 11512(12)02001 5534(0)00002 1189(0)011016 Florida scrub-jay data are from Stevens and Knight 2003-2004 annual report * Cut but unburned

40. Relationships r = 0.51, P < 0.05

41. 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

42. Conclusions cont. Objective 2 Examine whether individual body mass and reproductive condition varied among treatments No significant responses were found Objective 3 Examine relationships between Florida scrub-jay and small mammal populations Positive correlation was found, suggesting that both species benefit from management activities Consistent application of prescribed burns is imperative to maintain habitat characteristics preferred by these two federally listed species

43. Conclusion Land management activities influenced small mammals Southeastern beach mice was significantly more abundant in burned compartments Perhaps fire created favorable habitats, plant cover reduction and soil exposure Female southeastern beach mice reproductive condition varied among seasons, typically observed in Peromyscus sp. Cotton mice seem to respond to mechanical cutting Downed woody debris create complex habitats that cotton mice exploit

44. Conclusion cont. No association between land management treatment ; body mass and reproduction in cotton mice Positive correlation between FL scrub-jays and southeastern beach mice suggesting that both listed species benefit from current management activities Consistent application of prescribed burns is imperative to maintain habitat characteristics preferred by these two federally listed species A long term small mammal study should be established to investigate temporal and recovery mechanisms of small mammals