COMPARISON OF SMALL MAMMAL POPULATIONS AND DIVERSITY IN NORTHEAST CHINA AND NORTHWEST CANADA

This study was designed to compare small mammal populations and diversity in similar cutover forest habitats in northeast China (Langxiang, Heilongjiang Province) and northwest Canada (Prince George, British Columbia). Populations were sampled on replicate live-trap grids during a period of high numbers of small mammals in autumn at each of the respective study areas. The brown-backed vole (Clethrionomys rufocanus) in China and the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) in Canada dominated their respective communities with Jolly-Seber population estimates ranging from 59 to 104 voles/ha. Secondary major species included the northern red-backed vole (C. rutilus), Japanese field mouse (Apodemus speciosus), and striped field mouse (A. agrarius) in China, and the boreal red-backed vole (C gapperi) and deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) in Canada. Total average numbers of individuals were quite similar in each of the China (207) and Canada (209.5) communities. A greater biomass of small mammal species occurred at Langxiang (5.3 kg) than Prince George (4.2 kg) due to significantly larger body weights of C rufocanus and A. speciosus than M. pennsylvanicus and P. maniculatus, respectively. Diversity measurements were similar, but species richness was somewhat higher in the small mammal community at Prince George than Langxiang. There was generally a remarkable similarity in relative abundance and diversity of small mammal species occupying young cutover forest lands in northeast China and northwest Canada. This similarity suggests that the principles of managing temperate forests for wildlife diversity in North America could be applied to similar forests in Asia.