Small mammal communities in temperate North American forests.

Abstract

Small mammal communities in temperate North American forests typically are dominated by three families: Soricidae, Sciuridae, and Cricetidae. Omnivores and insectivores predominate in such communities, with herbivores and granivores representing minor trophic elements. Small mammal diversity often is greater than generally ack nowledged, especially in forests having mixtures of boreal and austral elements. With the exception of shrews of the genus Sorex , coexistence of congeners is uncommon among small mammals in temperate North American forests.