Matlack et al. examined the indirect effects of grazing by bison (Bos bison) and cattle (Bos taurus) on small mammal populations in annually burned tallgrass prairie in Kansas. The authors sampled small mammals in areas of tallgrass prairie grazed by bison, grazed by cattle, and left ungrazed. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) were the most abundant species captured in all treatments and in each trapping period. Deer mice were significantly more abundant in bison-grazed and cattle-grazed sites than in ungrazed sites in spring before fire, but were similar in abundance in grazed and ungrazed sites following fire. Abundance of deer mice was significantly higher in bison-grazed sites than in cattle-grazed and ungrazed sites in autumn. Bison and cattle differ in grazing and nongrazing behaviors that result in differences in vegetation structure. For example, bison create larger grazing patches with shorter vegetation than do cattle. Presence of wallows in bison enclosures also increased patches of bare ground not present in cattle enclosures. Interspecific differences in both grazing and wallowing likely result in more suitable sites for deer mice in areas grazed by bison than cattle.
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