The Buena Vista Lake ornate shrew (Sorex ornatus relictus; BVLOS) is a federally endangered subspecies of shrew endemic to the southern Tulare Basin, California. BVLOS are typically associated with wetland habitats and moist soils. Kern National Wildlife Refuge (KNWR) has documented BVLOS across its wetland habitats since 1992, but several observations of the species in alkali desert scrub habitat during recent exploratory surveys exposed a need for more information on the relationship between BVLOS presence and distance to water. The objective of this study was to collect a year-round dataset of shrew activity at varying distances from water to discern seasonal differences in habitat associations and water dependence using remote cameras. 36 cameras were deployed across KNWR’s upland habitat beginning in April 2024 and locations were stratified by distance to water. As of October 2024, seven sites have had BVLOS detections with the farthest detection being 1583 m from water. Using a single-season, single-species occupancy model, we aim to assess the effect of microhabitat characteristics on occupancy. Our results may reveal what habitat characteristics are most important to BVLOS, how distribution varies seasonally, and how to better manage for a species that could be more widespread than previously thought.

Adrienne graduated with a Master's in Ecosystem Science and Management and Geospatial Data Sciences from the University of Michigan. Her Master's research studied the impact of human activity on large mammal spatial ecology in order to inform management decisions. She is currently a Wildlife Monitoring Fellow with Kern National Wildlife Refuge, where she is managing novel research on previously unknown upland habitat associations of the endangered Buena Vista Lake Ornate Shrew.