Moonlight structures activity patterns of many nocturnal species. Bright moonlight often limits the activity of nocturnal prey, but dense vegetation weakens this effect. Using 8 years of ...live‐trapping data, we asked whether reintroduced megaherbivores (Bison bison) indirectly altered moonlight avoidance by small mammals in tallgrass prairies. In plots with bison, plants intercepted 20% less light, allowing more moonlight to reach ground level. During nights with no moonlight, Peromyscus maniculatus activity was similar in plots with and without bison. During nights with peak moonlight, P. maniculatus activity was four times greater in plots without bison compared to plots with bison. Conversely, Microtus ochrogaster activity was twice as great during full moons compared to new moons, but only in plots with bison. We also equipped a subset of traps with temperature sensors to estimate trap‐entry time. Although M. ochrogaster was more active on bright nights, most activity occurred before moonrise or after moonset, avoiding periods of bright moonlight. We conclude that megaherbivores play an unappreciated but important indirect role in tallgrass prairies by inducing behavioral shifts in other animal species. Because overlap in activity patterns can predict the likelihood of predator–prey encounters, such activity shifts have important implications for trophic interactions throughout restored prairie food webs. Additional work to understand interspecific and intraspecific variation in response to moonlight may improve efforts to forecast changes in community assembly due to restoration and land‐use change.
Tallgrass prairie is among the most threatened ecosystems but is often fragmented and surrounded by human‐modified landscapes. Small mammals are integral components of tallgrass prairies. However, ...little is known about how landscape composition, configuration, and management impact small mammals in tallgrass prairies.
We conducted a systematic literature review to identify species‐specific and community associations with three broad topics: landscape composition, landscape configuration, and management practices.
We identified 61 studies that assessed our variables of interest. We categorised the location, species assessed, variables monitored, and results by species and for the community.
The majority of studies (64%) were conducted in two states, Illinois and Kansas. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), and white‐footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) showed specific associations with landscape variables, with deer mice preferring bare ground and recently burned plots, and prairie voles preferring thatch and negatively associated with prescribed fire. White‐footed mice were frequently associated with wooded areas.
Small mammal biodiversity was positively associated with patchy habitats containing greater diversity in vegetative composition and management regime. Management and land composition were both relatively well studied for several species; habitat configuration was understudied.
We identified significant gaps in our understanding of small mammal landscape ecology in tallgrass prairies. With tallgrass prairie restoration a growing trend in this region, a greater understanding of drivers of small mammal populations will be crucial to successful restoration efforts. Future research should focus on understudied areas and species, and examine how habitat heterogeneity impacts small mammal biodiversity.
A systematic review of the literature regarding small mammal habitat associations in tallgrass prairie identified both trends and gaps in our understanding. While well‐studied species such as deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) have well‐documented associations with cover type and management conditions, there are many understudied or cryptic species that are less well understood. Furthermore, much of the current literature on this topic originates from the same few research locations, with several states underrepresented or unrepresented in the literature at all.
Fire was important to pre‐colonization prairies. In today's remnant and reconstructed prairies, managers frequently employ prescribed fire, a historical management practice that limits woody ...encroachment, suppresses non‐native species and promotes nutrient cycling. However, few long‐term prescribed fire spatial datasets are available for study.
We used archived images of prescribed fire maps and hand‐drawn fire records to generate a geospatial record of the prescribed fire history at Nachusa Grasslands, a combination remnant and restored preserve in northern Illinois.
This record contains maps of the prescribed fire history of the preserve across the entirety of its 35‐year history. We used the maps to calculate both the absolute area and percentage of the preserve burned every year.
This dataset compiles a long history of prescribed fire on a nature preserve and, due to the existing robust research programme at the preserve, can support the study of patterns in management applications of prescribed fire and examine the impacts of prescribed fire in restoration projects.
Fire was critical to pre‐colonization prairies, and today managers frequently employ prescribed fire to attain management goals. Our long‐term dataset spatially represents a 35‐year prescribed fire history at a tallgrass prairie restoration sites. Over that period, both simple amount and overall percentage of the preserve have increased.
Tallgrass prairies are among the most globally threatened ecosystems, with only one percent of the historical extent remaining in Illinois. Prairie restoration is an essential strategy to preserve ...biodiversity and reestablish threatened species. Practitioners use management tools to shift the landscape context of prairie restoration sites, such as prescribed fire and land cover change. Managers can also impact the landscape connectivity and edge proximity of certain areas through the use of mowed driving lanes. The effects of these factors on small mammals, which are central in tallgrass prairie food webs and relevant to human health and restoration success, are not well understood. Using ten years of small mammal live trapping data and a vast array of metrics assessing the landscape context, vegetation composition, and management impacts, I have assessed the direct and indirect impacts of this suite of variables on the populations and community composition of prairie small mammals. This was accomplished by combining documentation of management history, annual vegetative surveys, and supervised classification of drone imagery to evaluate the complex and interconnected drivers of small mammal populations. I then applied the knowledge and understanding of tallgrass prairie landscape ecology in a lesson on landscape ecology to be used in general ecology coursework in order to support greater student understanding of this complex and critical field. I developed and implemented a lesson plan across three semesters. This lesson incorporated tallgrass prairie management into a group problem-solving challenge that asked students to take on the role of land managers and make decisions to maximize positive impacts at the landscape scale. By combining an in-depth field study and an applied lesson that takes the field into the classroom, I have helped support informed restoration management, as well as supporting students in developing key interdisciplinary skills such as spatial reasoning, collaboration, and communication.
