Seasonal changes in home ranges of Abert's squirrels: impact of mating season

Edelman, Andrew J.; Koprowski, John L.

doi:10.1139/z06-009

Cited by 29 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…A similar spacing behavior has been observed in scatter‐hoarding rodents (Bergallo & Magnusson ; Linders et al. ; Edelman & Koprowski ), further supporting the idea of similar resource acquisition during non‐mating season between sexes with no sexual dimorphism (Gurnell ; Pasch & Koprowski ). However, males traveled greater distances during mating season, which also may account for the 95% FK home ranges three times larger observed during mating season.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Spacing Behavior of a Non‐Larder‐Hoarding Tamiasciurus: A Study of Mearns's Squirrels in Xeric Coniferous Forests

Ramos-Lara

Koprowski

2014

Ethology

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In ecosystems with seasonal fluctuations in food supply many species use two strategies to store food: larder hoarding and scatter hoarding. However, because species at different geographic locations may experience distinct environmental conditions, differences in hoarding behavior may occur. Tree squirrels in the genus Tamiasciurus display variation in hoarding behavior. Whereas red (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) and Douglas's (Tamiasciurus douglasii) squirrels in mesic coniferous forests defend territories centered around larder hoards maintaining non‐overlapping home ranges, red squirrels in deciduous forests defend small scatter‐hoarded caches of cones maintaining overlapping home ranges. As in other rodent species, variation in hoarding behavior appears to influence the spacing behavior of red and Douglas's squirrels. In contrast, Mearns's squirrels (Tamiasciurus mearnsi) in xeric coniferous forests neither rely on larder hoards nor appear to display territorial behavior. Unfortunately, little is known about the ecology of this southernmost Tamiasciurus. Using radiotelemetry, we estimated home‐range size, overlap, and maximum distance traveled from nest to examine the spacing behavior of Mearns's squirrels. Similar to scatter‐hoarding rodents, maximum distance traveled from nest was greater for males during mating season, whereas those of females were similar year round. Although no seasonal differences were detected, male home ranges were three times larger during mating season, whereas those of females were smaller and displayed a minor variation between seasons. Home ranges were overlapped year round but contrary to our expectations, overlap was greater during mating season for both sexes, with no detectable relationship between male home‐range size and the number of females overlapped during mating season. Overall, the results appear to support our hypothesis that in the absence of larder hoards, the spacing behavior of Mearns's squirrels should be different from larder‐hoarding congeners and more similar to scatter‐hoarding rodents.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Spacing Behavior of a Non‐Larder‐Hoarding Tamiasciurus: A Study of Mearns's Squirrels in Xeric Coniferous Forests

Ramos-Lara

Koprowski

2014

Ethology

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“…Variation between populations in communal nesting frequency could be due to differences in habitat and climate. Home ranges of Abert's squirrels are smaller in mixed‐conifer forests than ponderosa pine forests possibly due to greater food resource abundance in the former (Edelman & Koprowski 2006b). The small home‐range size may increase social contact between individuals in mixed‐conifer forests and lead to increased opportunities for communal nesting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Traps were placed on the ground at areas where squirrel activity was observed (e.g., nests, squirrel sightings, and feeding sign such as peeled twigs and stripped conifer cones). Trapping was conducted periodically throughout the year (every 1–3 mo) from Sep. 2001 to Aug. 2003 as part of a larger study on nest and space use of Abert's squirrels (Edelman & Koprowski 2005, 2006a,b). Traps were only open during the day and were checked approximately every 2 h. We assessed sex, reproductive condition, age, and body mass of live‐trapped squirrels.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communal Nesting in Asocial Abert's Squirrels: the Role of Social Thermoregulation and Breeding Strategy

Edelman

Koprowski

2007

Ethology

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The social thermoregulation hypothesis states that endothermic species will communally nest to reduce energy expenditures on thermoregulation. The hypothesis predicts that the frequency of communal nesting should increase with decreasing ambient temperature. The potential costs of communal nesting (e.g., increased predation risk, resource competition, cuckoldry, parasite/disease transmission, or infanticide) could decrease the frequency of communal nesting especially for asocial breeding females with dependent offspring. We examined the effects of ambient temperature and seasonal reproductive activities on the probability of communal nesting in Abert's squirrels (Sciurus aberti) in the Pinaleño Mountains, Arizona. Most squirrels nested consistently with the same partner in mixed‐sex pairs. The proportion of individuals engaging in communal nesting increased with decreasing ambient temperature as predicted by the social thermoregulation hypothesis. The onset of the breeding season greatly reduced the proportion of individuals communally nesting. The negative relationship between ambient temperature and communal nesting supports the use of communal nesting in Abert's squirrels as a mechanism to reduce thermoregulatory costs during cold conditions. The abrupt drop in the frequency of communal nesting during the breeding season is likely due to female abandonment of this behavior. By avoiding communally nesting during the breeding season, females may prevent males from mating with them outside of mating chases, reduce resource competition, and protect offspring from infanticide, diseases, and parasites. Males may gain additional fitness benefits from nesting with females because familiarity with females increases dominance rank in mating activities.

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“…Madison & McShea 1987; Frank & Heske 1992; Steinmann et al. 2005; Edelman & Koprowski 2006; Schradin & Pillay 2006) and to increased competition for resources because of high population density (Komdeur et al. 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Predictors of Range Areas and Use of Burrow Systems in the Diurnal Rodent, Octodon degus

2007

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Variation in animal space use patterns may be linked to numerous ecological factors affecting survival and reproduction. We examined the relationship between ecology and above‐ and below‐ground components of space use by Octodon degus, a semi‐fossorial rodent in Chile. We monitored the daytime minimum convex polygon and adaptive kernel range areas of 26 individuals and determined the number of burrow systems used by degus during night‐time radiotelemetry and trapping of burrow systems on two study grids at Rinconada de Maipú, a semi‐arid Matorral in central Chile. We quantified food biomass, soil hardness, distance to overhead vegetative cover, and density of burrow openings at putative nest burrows. Degus living on the grid with more shrub cover had larger range areas than degus living on the grid with less cover. The range areas of degus decreased with increasing distance from overhead vegetative cover. There was a weak (but statistically significant) negative relationship between the number of burrow systems used by degus and the distance to vegetative cover and density of burrow openings at burrow systems. Male and female degus had similar range areas. Our results suggest that overhead cover decreases the risk of predation to male and female degus. Degus probably balance the benefits of numerous burrow openings (reduced predation risk) with time and energy requirements of burrow construction and maintenance. Models of space use that consider the effect of multiple ecological variables should measure different dimensions of space use.

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Seasonal changes in home ranges of Abert's squirrels: impact of mating season

Cited by 29 publications

References 35 publications

Spacing Behavior of a Non‐Larder‐Hoarding Tamiasciurus: A Study of Mearns's Squirrels in Xeric Coniferous Forests

Spacing Behavior of a Non‐Larder‐Hoarding Tamiasciurus: A Study of Mearns's Squirrels in Xeric Coniferous Forests

Communal Nesting in Asocial Abert's Squirrels: the Role of Social Thermoregulation and Breeding Strategy

Ecological Predictors of Range Areas and Use of Burrow Systems in the Diurnal Rodent, Octodon degus

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