Small mammal populations in a restored stream corridor

An opportunity to study the response of a small mammal community to restoration of a riparian wetland was provided by the Pen branch project at the Savannah river site (SRS). Live trapping of small mammals was conducted on six transects at Pen branch in 1996 and 1998 and at three transects at Meyers branch, an unimpacted stream at SRS, in 1997 and 1998. Distributions of rates of capture of the four most common species were both spatially and temporally uneven. Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in the relationship of capture rates between species and between treatment and both the within-stream control and Meyers branch. Habitat use and movement within stream corridors appears to be dependent primarily on species, with age and sex perhaps contributing to habitat preference and distance moved. The lack of differences in capture rates related to transect or treatment may be due to the close proximity of sample transects relative to the movement potential of the species sampled.