Prairie management, small mammals, and vectors of disease risk

Grasslands, such as prairies, are one of the most endangered habitats in North America. Prairies are important because of their role in nutrient cycling and biodiversity from native vegetation. The primary management strategy is burning due to its ability to increase vegetation complexity over time while decreasing plant litter. Prescribed fires that happen too frequently, however, have been associated with a decrease in native vegetation. Though there is substantial research about the effects of burning regiments, there is still inconsistent evidence on how much time there should be in-between burnings. We sought to understand the relationships between burning as a prairie management tool with small mammals and vectors of disease risk. are a suitable group to further investigate how much time there should be in-between burnings because of their sensitivity to habitat changes. We compared a remnant and restored prairie using small mammal, tick abundance and vegetation cover. The capture and release of small mammals took place in central Missouri at Tucker Prairie and Prairie Fork Conservation Area. Demographic information was recorded for all captured small mammals. We used analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to evaluate the abundance for time since fire, represented by individual plots at each site, and vegetation cover. Our findings show that we may be able to predict when disease risk based on the amount of plant litter available post-burn. Findings from this research can be used to improve prairie restoration and management by better understanding the role of prairie management in maintaining tick-borne disease.