1997
DOI: 10.1890/0012-9615(1997)067[0295:eodapw]2.0.co;2
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Effects of Drought and Prolonged Winter on Townsend’s Ground Squirrel Demography in Shrubsteppe Habitats

Abstract: During a mark–recapture study of Townsend's ground squirrels (Spermophilus townsendii) on 20 sites in the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, Idaho, in 1991 through 1994, 4407 animals were marked in 17639 capture events. This study of differences in population dynamics of Townsend's ground squirrels among habitats spanned a drought near the extreme of the 130‐yr record, followed by prolonged winter conditions. Townsend's ground squirrels have a short active season (≈4 mo) in which to reproduc… Show more

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Cited by 74 publications
(54 citation statements)
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“…High quality, stable food sources are associated with greater burrow densities of southern Idaho ground squirrels. These findings are similar to those reported in other studies examining the relationship between vegetation and other species of ground squirrels (Yensen et al ; Van Horne et al , ; Bennett ; Steenhof et al ). Although most of the vegetation at our study sites was comprised of invasive annual species, we found greater burrow densities in plots with more native shrubsteppe vegetation (mostly perennial plants).…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 91%
“…High quality, stable food sources are associated with greater burrow densities of southern Idaho ground squirrels. These findings are similar to those reported in other studies examining the relationship between vegetation and other species of ground squirrels (Yensen et al ; Van Horne et al , ; Bennett ; Steenhof et al ). Although most of the vegetation at our study sites was comprised of invasive annual species, we found greater burrow densities in plots with more native shrubsteppe vegetation (mostly perennial plants).…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 91%
“…Our study also highlights that differential survivorship associated with body size can affect sex ratios in populations with sexual size dimorphism. Climatic extremes do not always affect sex ratios of populations significantly (Smith, 1996;Brown & Brown, 1998), but, like our study, sometimes they do (Moran & Hurd, 1994;Asakura 1995;Van Horne et al 1997), reinforcing the notion that sex ratios can evolve in variable environments through natural selection independent of maternal strategies of sex allocation. Short-term survival through transient, acute stress can be critical in shaping populations for many subsequent generations.…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 82%
“…Results on dominant adult marmots were in agreement with previous studies on other mammalian herbivores (Van Horne et al . ; Garel et al . ).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%