Long-Term Response of Small Mammal Communities to the 1988 Huckleberry Mountain Fire

Abstract

Natural burns are common in the boreal forests of the Rocky Mountains. While a considerable amount of research has focused on post-burn responses of vegetation and, more recently, large mammals, there have been few studies on responses of small mammal communities in these forests. The primary objective of this study was to revisit study sites on Huckleberry Mountain established immediately following the 1988 Yellowstone fires (Stanton et al., 1991, 1992; Spildie, 1994) to assess small mammal population trends, community structure, and microhabitat preferences on adjacent burned and unburned study sites 9 years post-burn.