Drivers of terrestrial mammalian biodiversity in the mountains of east Tennessee

Additional Authors

None

Abstract

Mammals play important roles in ecosystems as predators and dispersers of seeds and fungal spores. Understanding how species are distributed across the landscape is important for determining how communities are being affected by climate change and is imperative for preventing biodiversity loss. Our study set out to gain a deeper understanding of how elevation and habitat type influence terrestrial mammal community composition in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We sampled mammal communities in mesic (wet) and xeric (dry) habitat types using complementary approaches (camera traps and small mammal live trapping) at 42 sites across an 800 m elevational gradient (550 – 1350 m) in eastern Tennessee. At each site, camera traps captured images for 5 months and small mammal trapping occurred twice during the summer using Sherman traps. Both habitat types varied topographically with mesic sites consisting of cove forests or northern hardwood forests in drainages or north-facing slopes and xeric sites in pine-oak forests on ridges or south-facing slopes. Camera traps captured images of 16 different mammal species while Sherman traps led to the physical capture of 11, for a total of 27 species of mammals. Results indicate that mammalian richness was higher in mesic habitat types and increased with elevation with small mammals primarily being responsible for shifts in community composition. In conclusion, mesic drainages in the region act as biodiversity hotspots particularly at higher elevation for small mammals. Many of these small mammal species are habitat specialists that are limited to high-elevation mesic forests, highlighting the importance of this forest type for preserving mammalian diversity.

Start Time

16-4-2025 1:30 PM

End Time

16-4-2025 4:00 PM

Presentation Type

Poster

Presentation Category

Science, Technology and Engineering

Student Type

Undergraduate Student

Faculty Mentor

Ryan Stephens

Faculty Department

Biological Sciences

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Apr 16th, 1:30 PM Apr 16th, 4:00 PM

Drivers of terrestrial mammalian biodiversity in the mountains of east Tennessee

Mammals play important roles in ecosystems as predators and dispersers of seeds and fungal spores. Understanding how species are distributed across the landscape is important for determining how communities are being affected by climate change and is imperative for preventing biodiversity loss. Our study set out to gain a deeper understanding of how elevation and habitat type influence terrestrial mammal community composition in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We sampled mammal communities in mesic (wet) and xeric (dry) habitat types using complementary approaches (camera traps and small mammal live trapping) at 42 sites across an 800 m elevational gradient (550 – 1350 m) in eastern Tennessee. At each site, camera traps captured images for 5 months and small mammal trapping occurred twice during the summer using Sherman traps. Both habitat types varied topographically with mesic sites consisting of cove forests or northern hardwood forests in drainages or north-facing slopes and xeric sites in pine-oak forests on ridges or south-facing slopes. Camera traps captured images of 16 different mammal species while Sherman traps led to the physical capture of 11, for a total of 27 species of mammals. Results indicate that mammalian richness was higher in mesic habitat types and increased with elevation with small mammals primarily being responsible for shifts in community composition. In conclusion, mesic drainages in the region act as biodiversity hotspots particularly at higher elevation for small mammals. Many of these small mammal species are habitat specialists that are limited to high-elevation mesic forests, highlighting the importance of this forest type for preserving mammalian diversity.