Small mammals inventory

• Index

• Index

VAUDRY, R. 1995. Inventaire des mammifères terrestres de la réserve de parc national de l'Archipel-de-Mingan 1990-1993 . Service de la conservation des ressources naturelles. District de Mingan. Québec. 34 p + annexes.

ABSTRACT

Red Squirrel
© Parks Canada / É. Le Bel / M 01 79

Little information is presently available on the terrestrial mammals that frequent the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve. This study aims to identify the different species of mammal found on each of the islands and to obtain an idea of their abundance. A small mammal population sampling was carried out from 1990 to 1993 in the main habitats and on most islands in the park reserve. A total of 10,320 trap-nights were effectuated in the following manner: 6150 in the forest, 2340 in the peat bogs, 1680 in the barrens and 150 in the salt marshes. This distribution roughly corresponds to each habitat's proportional representation in the archipelago. This inventory allowed the identification of six small mammals: the Meadow Vole ( Microtus pennsylvanicus ), the Southern Red-backed Vole ( Clethrionomys gapperi ), the Northern Bog Lemming ( Synaptomys borealis ), the Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), the Meadow Jumping Mouse ( Zapus hudsonius ) and the Masked Shrew ( Sorex cinereus ). With the exception of Île du Fantome , all species of small mammal inventoried in the area west of the Marteau islands displayed abundance indexes that were very low or nil. However, abundance was higher to the east of Île de la Fausse Passe . It appears that small mammal population cycles are not uniform throughout the sampled territory. Compiled observations taken from the time of the park's creation in 1984 reveal that Îles du Fantome, du Havre and à la Chasse possess the greatest richness of mammalian species. Pearson's correlation analysis suggests that the islands' surface areas and vegetal diversity are the principal factors determining species richness of terrestrial mammals. Likewise, species richness appears to be influenced by the islands' relative isolation, as well as the duration of the ice bridge which links the park reserve to the mainland. The Northern Bog Lemming was captured on two islands. Little information was available on this species in the literature and the " Bilan de la faune " published by the Ministère du Loisir, de la Chasse et de la Pêche . Thus, it is considered a rare species of special concern. Further research on the Northern Bog Lemming is recommended in order to attain greater knowledge of both the species' biology and its population dynamics in the archipelago. Studies aimed at acquiring new knowledge on certain populations and protecting wildlife resources are also being proposed.

This report is available at the Regional Library of Parks Canada in Quebec (in French).