Many small California mammals have shifted ranges to higher elevations
By Jeanna Bryner
Staff Writer
Updated: 11:45 a.m. ET Dec. 14, 2006
SAN
FRANCISCO - Chipmunks, mice and squirrels are heading for the hills,
perhaps chased to higher elevations by a changing climate, scientists
report...
Since the early 1900s, many small mammals in California have shifted their ranges dramatically, mostly to higher elevations.
Scientists compared modern notes with past museum director Joseph Grinnell, who investigated the diversity of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds
along what he called the Yosemite Transect. With this information,
scientists retraced this work, and documented with traps and photos the
small mammals in this area that spans portions of the San Joaquin
Valley, the Sierra Nevada, including parts of Yosemite National Park.
