Macrohabitat and microhabitat affinities of small mammals in a fragmented landscape on the upper Coastal Plain of Virginia

We analyzed macrohabitat and microhabitat associations of four soricid and five rodent species in five macrohabitats on the Coastal Plain of Virginia. There were no significant differences in total small mammal abundance amon g macrohabitat types based on total captures/unit effort. However, abundanc es of four species, Cryptotis parva, Reithrodontomys humulis, Microtus penn sylvanicus and Zapus hudsonius, were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in old fields than in four forested habitats. Canonical correspondence analysis r evealed that 27% of the variation in small mammal distributions was attribu table to microhabitat characteristics. Three characteristics that had a par ticular influence on small mammal presence in forested habitats were shrub frequency (Sorex longirostris), canopy openness (S. hoyi) and diameter of d owned woody debris (S. hoyi, Blarina brevicauda, Microtus pinetorum). Corre lations between small mammals and microhabitat characteristics are due to l ocal moisture gradients and structural heterogeneity. Lack of correlations between Peromyscus leucopus and any microhabitat characteristic is due to t he ability of this species to obtain requirements from a variety of sources . Preservation of microhabitat characteristics like downed woody debris and understory vegetation, and certain macrohabitats (e.g., old fields), would require minimal management effort and provide suitable habitat for a diver se small mammal fauna in fragmented landscapes.