156 Mary K. Clark, Michael S. Mitchell, and Kent S. Karriker 
sidered to be common in many habitats in that area (Rose et al. 
1990, Handley 1991). 
Before 1989 S. cooperi had been reported in eastern North 
Carolina only from Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans counties (Brim- 
ley 1905, Rose 1981, Lee et al. 1982). After intensive trapping on 
the Dare Country mainland, often in what might be regarded as 
optimal habitat for the species, Clark et al. (1985) concluded that 
S. cooperi did not occur south of the Albemarle-Pamlico penin- 
sula. Four specimens collected between 1989 and 1992 proved that 
conclusion erroneous. An S. cooperi was captured in Beaufort County 
in 1989 (Webster et al. 1992), and in 1991 and 1992 M.S.M. and 
K.S.K. captured three S. cooperi in Jones and Craven counties in 
the Croatan National Forest. The National Forest captures were about 
170 km south of the southernmost Dismal Swamp record and ap- 
proximately 57 km south of the Beaufort County record. 
To better understand populations of S. cooperi in the 
Dismal Swamp and eastern North Carolina (Fig. 1), we describe the 
circumstances of the National Forest captures, review the ecology 
of these populations in southeastern Virginia and eastern North Caro- 
lina, and discuss the disjunct distribution of this species in the 
region. 
METHODS 
Study site description — Small mammals were trapped in and 
around the Croatan National Forest in parts of Carteret, Jones and 
Craven counties (Fig. 1). The 382,716-ha National Forest is gener- 
ally bounded by the Neuse River to the north, the Trent and White 
Oak rivers to the west, White Oak River and Bogue Sound to the 
south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. There are five spring-fed 
shallow lakes totaling 10,617 ha in the National Forest. The wide 
variety of habitat types there includes timberlands, sand ridges, 
long-leaf pine ( Pinus palustris) savannah, blackgum-cypress ( Nyssa 
sylvatica-Taxodium spp.) swamp, Carolina bays, and some of the 
largest pocosins in the state. 
Pocosins are distinct freshwater wetlands formed on deep peat 
deposits. Dominant pocosin vegetation includes evergreen shrubs 
(■ Cyrilla racemiflora, Ilex coriacea, /. glabra , Lyonia lucida), 
dwarf pond pine ( Pinus serotina ), and bay trees ( Gordonia lasian- 
thus, Magnolia virginiana, Persea borbonia). Pocosins can vary con- 
siderably in species composition, tree density, and stature of the 
vegetation (Ash et al. 1983). Pocosins where all of the vegetation 
is stunted and the community is dominated by shrubs are called 
