USE OF WOODCHUCK BURROWS BY SMALL MAMMALS IN AGRICULTURAL HABITATS

Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and white-footed mice (Peromysc us leucopus) used areas within 2 m of woodchuck (Marmota monax) burrow s more extensively than areas 10-14 m away from 86 burrows in orchards and hayfields. Short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda) were captured with equal frequency less than or equal to 2 m and 10-14 m from burro ws. Most adult meadow voles captured near burrows were reproductively active females. If woodchuck burrows function as nursery sites, their abundance and distribution could influence growth rates of meadow vole populations, potentially increasing crop damage.