Captures of Crawford's gray shrews (Notiosorex crawfordi) along the Rio Grande in central New Mexico

Authors

Alice Chung-MacCoubrey, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Albuquerque, New MexicoFollow
Heather L. Bateman, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Albuquerque, New MexicoFollow
Deborah M. Finch, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Albuquerque, New MexicoFollow

Abstract

We captured >2000 Crawford's gray shrews (Notiosorex crawfordi) in a riparian forest mainly consisting of cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) along the Rio Grande in central New Mexico. Little has been published about abundance and habitat of Crawford's gray shrew throughout its distributional range. During 7 summers, we captured shrews in pitfall traps at 13 study sites in Bernalillo, Valencia, and Socorro counties. Capture rates of shrews were greatest in August and September, and we did not detect a response of shrews to restoration treatments that removed nonnative plants from riparian forests. Results from our study indicate that (1) Crawford's gray shrews are more abundant in riparian habitats than historically presumed and (2) pitfall traps with drift fences are an effective means to capture shrews.

Recommended Citation

Chung-MacCoubrey, Alice; Bateman, Heather L.; and Finch, Deborah M. (2009) "Captures of Crawford's gray shrews (Notiosorex crawfordi) along the Rio Grande in central New Mexico," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 69: No. 2, Article 17.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol69/iss2/17