Two Woodrat Species Share Ground in Great Basin National Park

Two kinds of woodrat live within Great Basin National Park: the desert woodrat (Neotoma lepida) and the bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea). Their ranges overlap there, and a research group at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) set out to learn how the two divide the landscape between them — what the researchers call niche partitioning. Put simply: why does each woodrat live where it does, and what does it need to keep its population going?

How the survey worked

The team combines fieldwork in the park with lab work at UNR. During the previous summer's field season they surveyed along elevation gradients, looking for both species.

What they found

• 64 woodrats were caught in the park between April and September.
• In Snake Creek Canyon, both species turned up at most sampling sites, showing that they genuinely share ground in many parts of the park.

That was unexpected. Across most of the Great Basin, the two species have not been recorded living together.

Plants and nests

The team also surveyed vegetation, using line-point intercept and belt transects, at 130 sites where a woodrat had been caught. The plant data will show which vegetation woodrats build their nests beside, and which of the available plants they actually eat.

Next steps

Trapping was planned to continue in 2023 at more locations. The researchers also planned to log temperatures inside and outside nests through the season, since a nest's thermal properties are probably an important part of where a woodrat decides to build.

Sources

Based on "Understanding Woodrat Distribution," by researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno, from The Midden, Great Basin National Park, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Summer 2023), published by the National Park Service; rewritten in hubnx's own words.