You are here
قراءة كتاب Notes on the Mammals of Gogebic and Ontonagon Counties, Michigan, 1920 Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, Number 109
تنويه: تعرض هنا نبذة من اول ١٠ صفحات فقط من الكتاب الالكتروني، لقراءة الكتاب كاملا اضغط على الزر “اشتر الآن"

Notes on the Mammals of Gogebic and Ontonagon Counties, Michigan, 1920 Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, Number 109
edge of such a swamp a few deer-mice were taken, but these were evidently stragglers from the adjacent forest.
Willow-thicket habitat: Willows do not occur commonly along the water margins of the lakes of the region. The only place, except in clearings, where willows were noted as a definite growth is along the lower course of the Merriweather River at Gogebic Lake. Along this part of the river there are extensive growths of shrubby willows, growing (in early September) in a foot or more of water. The indications were that earlier in the summer the water about these plants must have been at least a foot higher. Signs of muskrat were noted at the edge of these willows.
Mud-flat habitat: Around the margin of a pond formed by an old deserted beaver dam near Gogebic Lake, two miles southwest of Merriweather, is a narrow strip of mud, very wet and sparsely covered with a growth of low rushes. The strip of muddy ground varies from about 1 to 4 meters in width and extends a short distance up along the edge of the small ditch draining into the pond. At the upper border of the strip of muddy shore is a thick growth of sedges, meeting the muddy shore at a fairly sharp line.
In this habitat meadow mice are common and four jumping mice (Zapus hudsonius) were taken.
Meadows
Ditch-border habitat: A number of small ditches run through an old beaver meadow of considerable size near Gogebic Lake, about two miles southwest of Merriweather. The borders of the ditches are muddy and the banks are from 6 to 18 inches high; in places the ditch borders are closely encroached upon by the tall sedges of the adjacent meadow. A small amount of water was present (in early September) in most of the ditches. In mouse traps set at the edges of these ditches, partly in the water, star-nosed moles and navigator shrews were taken. In a larger trap a skunk was taken.
Tall-sedge habitat: In the beaver meadow studied near Gogebic Lake, an area about 200 meters by 100 meters or more is occupied by a heavy growth of high, coarse sedges, reaching a height of about .75 to 1.00 meter. A few grasses and some low herbs occur sparingly among the sedges. The habitat had not been burned over and the ground is covered with a thick mat of the decaying leaves and stems of the sedges and grasses. In most places the ground is quite wet, sometimes soggy to walk upon, and in a few places low hummocks are numerous. A similar habitat was found in rather a narrow strip at the edge of Mud Lake, one-fourth mile southwest of Thousand Island Lake, Gogebic County. Here a small area of meadow occurs along the inlet of a tiny stream. This area apparently had been artificially cleared of its forest, but the level of the lake had not been raised.
The habitat differs from the submerged-sedge habitat of protected lake shores in being higher above the water and in not being covered with water from July to September; probably water does not stand to any depth on it at any time. The Richardson shrew is apparently a characteristic mammal of this habitat, though other shrews and mice were taken here also.
Grassy-meadow habitat: Part of the beaver meadow studied near Gogebic Lake is covered by a thick growth of grasses and sedges of a number of species. The ground of the habitat was rather dry and had been burned over the previous year. Grasses are also dominant over a few small areas near Mud Lake in Gogebic County. On a small area of the clearing near this lake a thick stand of bluegrass (Poa) is almost the only plant present. This occurs on an area of fairly moist mud. On the drier slope near the forest Poa also is abundant, forming the dominant species over a strip about 5 to 10 meters wide. Jumping mice are common in this habitat.
Alder-thicket habitat: On very wet ground just below an old beaver dam near Gogebic Lake there is a heavy growth of alder (Alnus incana) about 20 feet high. No other shrubs were noted in the thicket. The ground under the alders is mostly bare, there being only a few ferns, grasses, and other herbs. On the ground are many dead sticks fallen from the alders. This situation contained few mammals, only one Blarina being taken in four days' trapping with 25 traps. At the south end of the beaver meadow willows and alders are invading the sedges in very wet ground. No trapping was done in this situation.
Swamps
Black ash swamp habitat: A number of black ash swamps occur along the shores of Gogebic Lake, being apparently partially flooded during periods of heavy rains and during stages of high water. In a swamp of this type near the north end of Gogebic Lake on the west side, black ash (Fraxinus nigra) is the dominant tree, the trunks reaching diameters up to 2 feet. Elms (Ulmus americana) sometimes reaching a trunk diameter of 3 feet are common, and yellow birches and hard maples are common also. Black maples are rare, and lindens are few. The trees are high and the forest crown nearly closed. Underbrush is common in the more open places, this being mostly mountain maple (Acer spicatum) with a few young firs, young arbor-vitae, and Virginia creepers (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). There are numerous ferns, and herbs are abundant. Under the more closed parts of the forest canopy the ground is mostly bare, underbrush and herbs being scanty. Smaller black ash swamps occur in the Cisco Lake Region, and in the vicinity of Little Girl's Point a number of small black ashes were noted in a swamp of mixed arbor-vitae and black spruce.
Arbor-vitae swamp habitat: In the Cisco Lake Region arbor-vitae (Thuja occidentalis) occurs commonly near the edges of the lakes and in the wet depressions in the forest. Near Gogebic Lake also the arbor-vitae grows commonly near the shores of the lake and in wet places in the woods, especially at the edges of swamps. But the trees in both these areas, so far as seen, were small, and the arbor-vitae did not form a dominant species, but occurred in a small percentage mixed with the other types of forest. However, in part of the region near Gogebic Lake extensive arbor-vitae swamps are reported to occur. In the vicinity of Little Girl's Point arbor-vitae swamps are common, occupying the wet lower northern slopes of the high ridge.
In a swamp of this type three miles southeast of the point arbor-vitae is the dominant tree, reaching trunk diameters of two feet and more. Under the dense shade of the high forest crown there are many young trees of the same species, and the forest has evidently reached a temporary climax. Of other trees, a few small yellow birch, a few young firs and hemlocks, and one fallen white spruce (Picea canadensis) were noted. The ground is very wet and there are numerous tiny streams, which frequently disappear under the ground. Fallen trees and decaying logs on the ground make a thick tangle, very difficult to penetrate. The underbrush is scanty; mountain maple is rather common, and there are a few young black ashes. Much moss grows on the ground and on the decaying logs.
In a depression two miles south of Little Girl's Point is a mixed growth of arbor-vitae, black spruce, with a few black ashes. The trees are mostly small, none of them exceeding about eight inches in trunk diameter. In August the ground was very wet, there being standing water in some places, and the ground was heavily covered with sphagnum. This situation may be considered transitional between the black spruce bog and the arbor-vitae swamp. No traps for mammals were set in this situation.
Bogs
Leather leaf bog habitat: In the northwestern corner of Fish-hawk Lake and at several places along the channel connecting

