Mammals Articles

Discover the Park – Wildlife

New research published: Apostle Islands play key role in regional spread of American marten populations

New research published: Apostle Islands play key role in regional spread of American marten populations

Consider yourself fortunate if you've seen an American marten on the Apostle Islands. These small, fur-bearing mammals are hard to spot but fun to watch. The slender-bodied, state-endangered weasels are also the subject of ongoing research by scientists at the University of Wisconsin. Their work was the subject of a session at the 50th Anniversary Research Stewardship Symposium. It's also the basis for a new scientific paper. The researchers used DNA from hair samples to estimate how many animals are in the park and where their relatives live. They published the results of that work in late...

Lakeshore Logbook – Tom and Wendy Bredow

Lakeshore Logbook – Tom and Wendy Bredow

Tom Bredow As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 16th in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. This week's entry is a father-daughter collaboration. Tom Bredow lived in park housing at Little Sand Bay when he was the...

Longitudinal Trends and Ecology of the Small Mammal Community

Longitudinal Trends and Ecology of the Small Mammal Community

As part of the first ever comprehensive survey of the mammal community of the Apostle Islands archipelago, we documented changes in distribution of small mammals since the establishment of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in 1970. Using recent data, we also described trends in abundance and multiple aspects of small mammal species ecology. We trapped small mammals from 20 of the 22 islands of the archipelago (2017-2020) and compared those results to historical (1961- 2004) records. Small mammal community diversity was driven by island size and less so by island isolation, regardless of...

New Insights Into the Dynamics of Apostle Islands Carnivore Communities

New Insights Into the Dynamics of Apostle Islands Carnivore Communities

While protected areas are often considered strongholds for wildlife populations, recent research in protected areas has highlighted that both human activity (i.e. presence) and footprint (i.e. structures) can influence wildlife. To determine how human activity and footprint affect the spatiotemporal activity of wildlife on the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, we monitored the carnivore community for five years (2014-2018) using camera traps. We found that all structure types had a negative impact on carnivore community relative abundance, except for campgrounds, which were positively...

Lakeshore Logbook – Zach Rozmiarek

Lakeshore Logbook – Zach Rozmiarek

As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the third in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Zach Rozmiarek interned at the park in the summer of 2008. He worked as an Interpretive Ranger from 2009 to 2017. What position(s) did...

Lakeshore Logbook – Larry Johnson

Lakeshore Logbook – Larry Johnson

As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the second in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. After 37 years with the National Park Service, Larry Johnson retired as the Superintendent of Ozark National Scenic Riverways in...