DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Can Predation Risk Limit Small Mammal Seed Predation in Novel Winter Habitats?

在北方的森林里，许多植物和动物生活在雪和土壤的交界处。近几十年来，美国北部许多地区的降雪量都在下降，预计这种下降趋势将持续到未来。这项研究的重点是生活在雪和土壤交界处的小型哺乳动物如何应对栖息地的丧失。虽然厚厚的积雪可以让小型哺乳动物，如老鼠或田鼠，躲避捕食者，但这些动物可能会从离开积雪覆盖的地区寻找食物（种子和幼苗）中受益。这项研究将在一个小范围内清除积雪，以确定积雪减少是否会导致小型哺乳动物花更多时间觅食，从而更容易受到捕食者的影响。摄像机将被用来记录小型哺乳动物行为的变化。将对种子和幼苗进行监测，以确定哺乳动物行为的变化如何影响它们的生存。了解在少雪地区促进小型哺乳动物活动的条件可以帮助预测未来几十年的幼苗存活率，最终导致更有效的森林管理策略。这项研究将支持研究生和本科生的培训，并将为K-12学生和公众提供推广机会。本研究考察了北温带森林中积雪深度和捕食风险对小型哺乳动物活动和种子捕食的重要性。研究人员将进行一项实验，操纵由土壤和雪之间的界面（subnium）提供的捕食避难所，以及大部分雪已经被清除的另一个捕食避难所（木质碎片）。使用最近描述的技术，运动传感器红外摄像机将放置在每个处理组合中，以比较深雪和浅雪地区的小型哺乳动物活动。摄像机将集中在装有四种本地树种种子和幼苗的托盘上，使研究人员能够量化小型哺乳动物活动的变化如何影响它们所食用的植物物种的相对存活率。通过将亚膜中的相机陷阱与种子去除试验相结合，研究人员还将能够监测消耗种子的小型哺乳动物物种。这项研究将有助于澄清小型哺乳动物在冬季觅食效率和捕食风险之间的权衡，为更深入地了解环境背景如何改变雪深、小型哺乳动物和它们所消耗的种子之间的关系提供更全面的了解。

In northern forests, many plants and animals live at the interface between the snow and soil. In recent decades snowfall has declined across many parts of the northern United States and this decline is expected to continue into the future. This study focuses on how small mammals that live at the interface between the snow and the soil respond to the loss of this habitat. While deep snow allows small mammals, such as mice or voles, to hide from predators, these animals may benefit from leaving snow covered areas to search for food (seeds and seedlings). This study will remove snow in a small area to determine whether less snow leads small mammals to spend more time foraging and being susceptible to predators. Cameras will be used to record changes in the behavior of the small mammals. Seeds and seedlings will be monitored to determine how the changes in mammal behavior influence their survival. Understanding conditions that promote small mammal activity in areas with little snow could help in predicting seedling survival in future decades, ultimately leading to more effective forest management strategies. This study will support the training of a graduate and undergraduate student and will provide opportunities for outreach with K-12 students and with the general public. This research examines the importance of snow depth and predation risk on small mammal activity and seed predation in a northern temperate forest. The researchers will conduct an experiment that manipulates the predation refuge provided by the interface between the soil and snow (subnivium), and an alternative predation refuge (woody debris) from which most snow has been removed. Using a recently described technique, motion-sensor infrared cameras will be placed in each treatment combination to compare small mammal activity in areas with deep snow and shallow snow. Cameras will be focused on trays containing seeds and seedlings of four native tree species, allowing researchers to quantify how changes in small mammal activity can influence the relative survival rates of the plant species they consume. By combining camera traps in the subnivium with a seed removal assay, researchers will also be able to monitor the small mammal species consuming seeds. This research will help clarify the trade-offs small mammals face between foraging efficiency and predation risk during winter, providing a more thorough understanding of how environmental context might alter the relationship between snow depth, and small mammals and the seeds they consume.