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Small mammals (rodents and shrews) were sampled 7-12 years following the Anaktuvuk River Fire to examine how post-fire ecological changes influence small mammal abundance. Small mammals were snap-trapped in August 2014, 2017-2019 at the site of the 2007 Anaktuvuk River Fire, and a nearby unburned control site. At each site, 120 traps were set in 3 parallel lines spaced 40m apart. Each trap was spaced 10m apart, baited, and set to rodent sign within one meter of the trap station. Traps were checked the following two mornings with all captures collected and sprung traps reset. Abundance estimates (captures per 100 trap nights) are presented for tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus), red-backed voles (Myodes rutilus) and shrews (Sorex spp.) The goals of the project were to examine the impact of post-fire changes in plant community composition and structure on habitat suitability and rodent herbivore activity in response to a large, severe, and unprecedented fire in northern Alaska moist acidic tundra.
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This content will become publicly available on April 17, 2026
DNA-based identification of small rodent hairs sampled noninvasively in Gabon
The study of small rodents is challenging because of the difficulty of observing and sampling them in the wild. Although noninvasive approaches have proven effective for large mammals, such an approach has rarely been applied to rodents. Here, we describe a novel noninvasive approach for sampling rodent hairs in tropical forest and caves in Gabon, and present cytochrome b sequence data from hair samples obtained using this technique. Twenty-six unknown rodent hair samples were randomly selected for this study from a larger set of samples collected from 2 sites in Gabon (Lastoursville and Franceville). These samples were captured using 3 types of hair traps made from 20 cm long cylindrical tubes of plastic sheathing composed of either: (i) 50-mm diameter red electric cable; (ii) gray polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes; or (iii) a larger PVC pipe of 100-mm diameter. Traps were placed along ~200 m long transects laid either on the forest floor, on tree trunks, or within caves and baited with a tethered palm nut. From this sample subset, we were able to obtain a 429-bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from 17 samples. Nearly all samples could be identified to the species level using a neighbor-joining tree analysis based on published sequences. Five murid rodents were identified (Praomys petteri, P. missonei, Lophuromys spp., Malacomys longipes, and Grammomys spp.) and 1 Red-legged Sun Squirrel (Heliosciurus rufobrachium). This study shows that it is possible to amplify and sequence hair samples collected noninvasively from small forest rodents in the tropics and that such an approach could provide important genetic data on species that would otherwise be difficult to study.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2420103
- PAR ID:
- 10656523
- Editor(s):
- Ortega, Jorge
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Mammalogy
- Volume:
- 106
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 0022-2372
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 756 to 763
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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