Small Mammal Demographic Data

This file contains mark/recapture trapping data collected from 2013-present on permanently established small mammal trapping webs in the creosote-shrubland ecotone on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico. The two trapping webs are sampled for 3 consecutive nights once per month following the new moon. Each trapping web consists of 145 rebar stakes, 12 spokes originating from a central rebar point, each containing 12 rebars each. The first 4 stakes of the spoke are 5m apart, with the rest being 10m apart for a total of 100m per spoke (200m diameter). Demographic data is collected from each captured animal including age, sex, species, trap location, and reproductive status. Each animal is marked with a unique ear or radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and tissue samples (hair, whiskers, blood and fecal) are collected from each individual once per month. Demographic Findings: From 2013–2023, the program captured an average of 432 unique individuals per year across >10 species from two rodent families, Heteromyidae and Cricetidae. Heteromyids are the most abundant (~77% of captures), with Perognathus flavus (51%), Dipodomys merriami (11%), D. ordii (11%), and D. spectabilis (4%) dominating the community. Recapture rates for these species are >75%, generating longitudinal data on survival.

本数据集收录了2013年至今，于新墨西哥州中部塞维利塔国家野生动物保护区内石炭酸灌丛交错带中，长期布设的小型兽类诱捕网格所采集的标记-重捕诱捕数据。该两套诱捕网格每月于新月过后连续采样3个夜晚。每套诱捕网格包含145根钢筋桩：以1根中心钢筋桩为原点，向外布设12条辐臂，每条辐臂设置12根钢筋桩。每条辐臂的前4根桩间距为5米，其余桩间距为10米，单条辐臂总长100米，整套网格直径达200米。研究人员会为每只捕获的小型兽类收集种群统计数据，涵盖年龄、性别、物种、诱捕点位及繁殖状态。每只个体均佩戴唯一的耳标或射频识别（Radio Frequency Identification, RFID）标签进行标记，同时每月采集一次该个体的组织样本，包括毛发、胡须、血液及粪便。种群统计结果：2013至2023年间，该项目年均捕获432只独特个体，涵盖啮齿目2科（异鼠科Heteromyidae、仓鼠科Cricetidae）的10余个物种。异鼠科物种占捕获总量的约77%，为群落优势类群，其中金黄囊鼠（Perognathus flavus，占比51%）、梅氏更格卢鼠（Dipodomys merriami，占比11%）、奥氏更格卢鼠（D. ordii，占比11%）以及壮丽更格卢鼠（D. spectabilis，占比4%）为绝对优势种。上述物种的重捕率均高于75%，可由此获取关于种群存活的长期纵向监测数据。