lo University of Michigan 



Meadows 

 Ditch-border habitat: A number of small ditches run through 

 an old beaver meadow of considerable size near Gogebic Lake, 

 about two miles southwest of Merriweather. The borders of 

 the ditches are muddy and the banks are from 6 to i8 inches 

 high ; in places the ditch borders are closely encroached upon 

 by the tall sedges of the adjacent meadow. A small amount 

 of water was present (in early September) in most of the 

 ditches. In mouse traps set at the edges of these ditches, 

 partly in the water, star-nosed moles and navigator shrews 

 were taken. In a larger trap a skunk was taken. 



Tall-sedge habitat: In the beaver meadow studied near 

 Gogebic Lake, an area about 200 meters by 100 meters or 

 more is occupied by a heavy growth of high, coarse sedges, 

 reaching a height of about .75 to i.oo meter. A few grasses 

 and some low herbs occur sparingly among the sedges. The 

 habitat had not been burned over and the ground is co\ered 

 with a thick mat of the decaying leaves and stems of the 

 sedges and grasses. In most places the ground is quite wet, 

 sometimes soggy to walk upon, and in a few places low hum- 

 mocks are numerous. A similar habitat was found in rather 

 a narrow strip at the edge of Mud Lake, one-fourth mile south- 

 west of Thousand Island Lake, Gogebic County. Here a small 

 area of meadow occurs along the inlet of a tiny stream. This 

 area apparently had been artificially cleared of its forest, but 

 the level of the lake had not been raised. 



The habitat differs from the submerged-sedge habitat of 

 protected lake shores in being higher above the water and in 

 not being covered with water from July to September; prob- 

 ably water does not stand to any depth on it at any time. The 

 Richardson shrew is apparently a characteristic mammal of 

 this habitat, though other shrews and mice were taken here 

 also. 



