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Colorado boasts the largest populations of the rare boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas) in the Southern Rocky Mountains. CNHP zoologist Brad Lambert in cooperation with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service has been studying the distribution, ecology, and populations of the boreal toad since the late 1990s. Brad’s work has documented the impacts weather (Scherer et al. 2008) and chytrid fungus (Pilliod et al. 2009) have on boreal toad populations, and uncovered the alternate-year skipped breeding of females (Muths et al. 2010). Recently, he authored a long-term analysis of boreal toad populations to understand the factors influencing population growth and decline (Lambert et al. 2016).
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Below are links to Boreal Toad Reports
The Preble’s meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei; PMJM) was listed as threatened because of habitat loss throughout its range in Colorado and Wyoming. Even prior to its listing CNHP was studying distribution and populations of PMJM. CNHP was instrumental in developing the PMJM distribution database, and continues to study the ecology and population dynamics of PMJM. CNHP’s Rob Schorr has conducted research on movement, dispersal, populations, and habitat (Schorr 2001, 2003), parasites (Schorr and Davies 2002), seasonal survival (Schorr et al. 2009), population declines (Schorr 2013), and habitat impacts on survival (Schorr and Mihlbachler, in review).
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Below are links to Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse Reports
- BODY MASS AND WINTER SEVERITY AS PREDICTORS OF OVERWINTER SURVIVAL IN PREBLEÂS MEADOW JUMPING MOUSE
- Conservation and Management Plan for Colorado Butterfly Plant and Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse on F.E. Warren Air Force Base
- Conservation and Management Plan for PrebleÂs Meadow Jumping Mouse on the U.S. Air Force Academy
- Final Report on the Geographic Extent of the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse Population on the United States Air Force Academy
- Grey Flesh Fly (Wohlfahrtia vigil) Parasitism of a PrebleÂs Meadow Jumping Mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei)
- Meadow Jumping Mice (Zapus hudsonius preblei) on the U.S. Air Force Academy El Paso County, Colorado: Populations, Movement and Habitat from 2000-2002
- Meadow Jumping Mice (Zapus hudsonius preblei) on the U.S. Air Force Academy, El Paso County, Colorado
- Using a temporal symmetry model to assess population change and recruitment in the Prebleis meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius preblei)
The Pawnee montane skipper (Hesperia leonardus montana) is an endemic butterfly to Colorado, thriving in pine-forest mountain meadows in the South Platte River drainage. This rare butterfly is listed as threatened and CNHP has been working with the U.S. Forest Service to monitor populations for many years. CNHP’s John Sovell has been instrumental in conducting sampling for the butterfly and studying its phenology. Between 1996 and 2002, four separate wildfires fires burned approximately 50 percent of the butterfly’s habitat resulting in declines in population size. Periodic monitoring will help determine if populations remain low and how resilient they are to periods of drought, which are more frequent within the distribution of the butterfly. The combination of increasing frequency of drought and the potential for habitat loss due to extensive crown fires could seriously affect the long-term viability of this rare butterfly.
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Below are links to Pawnee Montane Skipper Reports
- Pawnee Montane Skipper Vegetation Study for the Upper South Platte Watershed Protection and Restoration Project September 2012
- Pawnee Montane Skipper Post-fire Habitat Assessment Survey August/September 2009
- Pawnee Montane Skipper Post-fire Habitat Assessment Survey - September 2006
- Pawnee Montane Skipper Post-fire Habitat Assessment Survey - September 2004
- Pawnee Montane Skipper Post-fire Habitat Assessment Survey - September 2005
With the recent declines of bat populations in eastern North America and the spread of white-nose syndrome, there is growing interest to understand population status of bats in the West. CNHP has been collaborating with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and federal agencies to monitor little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) maternity colonies using mark-recapture techniques. Using integrated transponder tags and passive antennas at the maternity roosts, CNHP is able to understand the frequency of roost use and bat survival over time.
