USE OF A MESH LIVE TRAP FOR SMALL MAMMALS - ARE RESULTS FROM SHERMAN LIVE TRAPS DECEPTIVE

Two types of mesh live traps were better than Sherman traps for captur ing rodents in high and low deserts, Mediterranean grassland and shrub land, and riparian woodland and scrub habitats (P < 0.001). Mesh traps took more species and more individuals within a species than did Sher man traps, resulting in substantially different estimates of density, sex ratios, age structure, and movement. Kangaroo rats frequently kick ed sand into Sherman traps, but not into mesh traps. A significant dif ference in trap response for a variety of rodents suggests a need for reevaluation of studies on populations, behavior, and distribution con ducted with Sherman and other closed, box-type traps.