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.