| dc.description.abstract | Conservation priorities are increasingly important in the face of modern human activities.
Anthropogenic activities such as deforestation, pollution, and climate change have negative
impacts on all vertebrates. In chapter 1, I examine whether there are relationships among density
dependence, population size variability, and extinction risk in mammals to see whether these
parameters are indicative of population health. Also included were analyses of how body mass
and age to maturity affect those three measures. On a smaller, more local scale, I asked questions
regarding biodiversity of small mammals in a highly fragmented environment, the tallgrass
prairie. In chapter 2, I examined how cattle grazing impacts small mammal biodiversity in the
Sheyenne National Grassland on a short term, season-long scale. By understanding the
interaction of large herbivores, vegetation height, and small mammals, appropriate measures can
be taken to conserve this rare habitat properly, without sacrificing biodiversity. | en_US |
