BULLETIN FLORIDA MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY VOL. 38 PT. 11(8)


 Microhabitat Use


 The fluorescent pigment body-dusting and capsule techniques were not highly
successful. Fluorescent trails from body dusted animals were difficult to follow
beyond a 4-m radius of the den. Trails that could be located were found in leaf
litter, fetterbush, and on logs. Two animals whose dens were located in
structurally complex vegetation provided the most important data. Pigment trails
were located on a multitude of branches and stems at various heights. At one male
den, 4720 cm of fluorescent trails were measured; 84.6% were arboreal and 15.4%
were terrestrial. At one female den, I measured 5837 cm of trails; 75.1% were
arboreal and 24.9% were terrestrial.


 DISCUSSION

 Habitat


 Woodrats occupy an array of habitats across their range. It is clear that
northern populations of the eastern woodrat prefer rocky terrain. However, in the
southeastern coastal plain, where these habitats are not abundant, Neotoma
floridana are found in various woodlands. It is not clear if specific habitats are
preferred among forest types. Barbour and Humphrey (1982) found the highest
density in mature hardwood forests in Key Largo, Florida. Chamberlain (1928)
recorded Neotomafloridana in wooded swampy areas in South Carolina. Pearson
(1952) documented high densities of woodrats along mesic forest ecotones, but
trapped them in swamps and high and low mesic hammocks in Gulf hammocks of
Florida. This study confirms these researchers' reports, documenting woodrats in
hardwood forests and swamps. However, in this study woodrats were strongly
associated with three mesic forest habitats on the Ordway Preserve: hardwood
hammock with saw-palmetto understory, hardwood hammock with open
understory, and bottomland hardwood swamp.
 I documented similar plant species composition and relative densities of
vegetation in the three mesic habitats occupied by woodrats. A notable feature of
species composition is the species richness in all strata and in all habitats.
However, significant differences were observed in vegetation structure on
horizontal and vertical planes. The shrub stratum, followed by sapling and
seedling strata, are probably the most significant to woodrat foraging and
movement activities. Stem density was highest for shrubs in the bottomland
swamp and for saplings and seedlings in the mesic hardwood habitat. The dense
shrub stratum in the bottomland hardwood swamp results in an impenetrable wall
of ericaceous shrubs. This attribute of structural complexity in the bottomland