Barren Ground
Barren ground consists of open sand on the beaches and blowouts. Barren grounds are about 4% of the dunes areas and occur mostly along the beaches. Because of the scarcity of plants there are no permanent mammals living in the area. The normal process is for animals hunt on the beach at night. Some animals will live in the scattered clumps of plants that may remain or return to the blowouts. Evidence of animals in the barren areas is usually done through their tracks. Animals appear to go to the beach to feed and/or drink. In the blowouts, evidence of mammals is found near the clumps of grass (marrain grass and sea rocket).
Species found
Beaches: Virginia opossum, raccoon, and prairie deer mice and white-tailed deer. Blowouts: masked shrew, prairie vole, and meadow voles.
Read more about this topic: Mammals Of The Indiana Dunes
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