This artigo is reproduced verbatium - it was written por B. Henderson 15/3/2011.
"Biology student Rob Gilson found a critter so rare it hadn't been seen in Mecklenburg County [USA] since 1968.
"A palm-sized oldfield rato succumbed to Gilson's lure of sunflower seeds and was trapped at Cowan's Ford Wildlife Refuge on Feb. 20.
"North Carolina marks the northern edge of the mouse's range. It has been documented in the state only three times, and North Carolina lists it as a species of special concern.
"'It's almost like the ivory-billed woodpecker for our region', said Lenny Lampel, a Mecklenburg County biologist who mentors Gilson.
"The discovery also marks another triumph - the near completion of a decade of work to inventory Mecklenburg's plants and animais for the first time.
"County naturalists, biologists and volunteers have surveyed birds, reptiles, amphibians, peixe and many invertebrates from dragonflies to butterflies. Most of it has been done with grants, not tax money.
"The small-mammal survey Gilson worked on will help complete data on mammals, not including bats. Other volunteers are searching for moths and snails.
"The data will establish baselines por which to compare changes in species numbers in future years. They're also crucial first steps toward protecting native species and managing county-owned land.
"'Once you start looking, you can be quickly surprised por what's out there that was unknown', said Don Seriff, a county natural resources official.
"Gilson, who lives in Mooresville and services ATMs for a living, is working with local mentors on a biology degree from Arizona's Prescott College. Last ano he got his feet wet looking for salamanders.
"The parks department sent him to Cowan's Ford to get 'a basic idea of what was out there'. The 668-acre refuge near Mountain Island Lake is a mix of pines, grassland and waterfowl ponds where public access is restricted.
"Gilson set metal, nonharmful traps along a 150-meter line and waited.
"Early that Sunday morning, Gilson, his wife, Stephanie, and two daughters checked the traps, measuring, weighing and photographing each catch. One held a docile little rodent, a burrowing night wanderer weighing less than 1 ounce, whose identity was later confirmed por state mammal experts.
"'There was a suspicion, but I wasn't expecting it', Gilson said. 'It was pretty exciting, because I had talked to Lenny about a week before that and he didn't expect to catch one'.
"Its contribution to science done, the rato scampered free."
See: link
"Biology student Rob Gilson found a critter so rare it hadn't been seen in Mecklenburg County [USA] since 1968.
"A palm-sized oldfield rato succumbed to Gilson's lure of sunflower seeds and was trapped at Cowan's Ford Wildlife Refuge on Feb. 20.
"North Carolina marks the northern edge of the mouse's range. It has been documented in the state only three times, and North Carolina lists it as a species of special concern.
"'It's almost like the ivory-billed woodpecker for our region', said Lenny Lampel, a Mecklenburg County biologist who mentors Gilson.
"The discovery also marks another triumph - the near completion of a decade of work to inventory Mecklenburg's plants and animais for the first time.
"County naturalists, biologists and volunteers have surveyed birds, reptiles, amphibians, peixe and many invertebrates from dragonflies to butterflies. Most of it has been done with grants, not tax money.
"The small-mammal survey Gilson worked on will help complete data on mammals, not including bats. Other volunteers are searching for moths and snails.
"The data will establish baselines por which to compare changes in species numbers in future years. They're also crucial first steps toward protecting native species and managing county-owned land.
"'Once you start looking, you can be quickly surprised por what's out there that was unknown', said Don Seriff, a county natural resources official.
"Gilson, who lives in Mooresville and services ATMs for a living, is working with local mentors on a biology degree from Arizona's Prescott College. Last ano he got his feet wet looking for salamanders.
"The parks department sent him to Cowan's Ford to get 'a basic idea of what was out there'. The 668-acre refuge near Mountain Island Lake is a mix of pines, grassland and waterfowl ponds where public access is restricted.
"Gilson set metal, nonharmful traps along a 150-meter line and waited.
"Early that Sunday morning, Gilson, his wife, Stephanie, and two daughters checked the traps, measuring, weighing and photographing each catch. One held a docile little rodent, a burrowing night wanderer weighing less than 1 ounce, whose identity was later confirmed por state mammal experts.
"'There was a suspicion, but I wasn't expecting it', Gilson said. 'It was pretty exciting, because I had talked to Lenny about a week before that and he didn't expect to catch one'.
"Its contribution to science done, the rato scampered free."
See: link