Short-Distance Translocation as a Management Option for Nuisance Maritime Pocket Gophers

Hansler, Tara P.; Henke, Scott E.; Perotto‐Baldivieso, Humberto L.; Baskin, Jon A.; Hilton, Clay

doi:10.1656/058.016.0409

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This supports our initial observations that cantaloupe is a more effective bait for trapping than granola or scat. This agrees with the previous cantaloupe-baited trapping results of approximately one trapped gopher out of every six traps set (Hansler et al 2017). Scat as bait operated as a deterrent to the gophers with 14 out of 23 scat baited traps being filled with dirt.…”

supporting

confidence: 92%

“…We used standard Sherman live traps near the surface. Baits, such as granola or peanut butter, used for trapping non-fossorial rodents yielded little success in the original study and were not even discussed (Hansler et al 2017). We observed that captive gophers housed in aquaria seemed to prefer cantaloupe over conventional feed such as rat biscuits, granola, pelleted rodent foods, and a variety of other fruits and vegetables.…”

mentioning

confidence: 93%

“…

During 2014-2015, we trapped Texas pocket gophers (Geomys personatus) in coastal South Texas for a translocation study (Hansler et al 2017). In the 2017 paper, the trapping method was briefly described in three sentences.

…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Simpler Strategy for Live-Trapping Pocket Gophers (Rodentia: Geomyidae)

Hansler¹,

Hansler

Baskin

2019

The Texas Journal of Science

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During 2014-2015, we trapped Texas pocket gophers (Geomys personatus) in coastal South Texas for a translocation study (Hansler et al. 2017). In the 2017 paper, the trapping method was briefly described in three sentences. Herein we provide more detail on the technique and discuss a preliminary experiment demonstrating that cantaloupe is an effective bait for pocket gophers (Rodentia: Geomyidae). Because of their fossorial lifestyle (Williams 1982), pocket gophers are inherently difficult to live trap at the surface because they rarely come above ground. They are usually live-captured by digging and inserting a live trap in their burrow (Sherman 1941;Baker & Williams 1972;Hickman 1979) sometimes using a specially constructed device (Connior & Risch 2009;Moore et al. 2019). Burrow depths for Geomys personatus average 240 cm and range from 80-440 cm (Kennerly 1954). We used standard Sherman live traps near the surface. Baits, such as granola or peanut butter, used for trapping non-fossorial rodents yielded little success in the original study and were not even discussed (Hansler et al. 2017). We observed that captive gophers housed in aquaria seemed to prefer cantaloupe over conventional feed such as rat biscuits, granola, pelleted rodent foods, and a variety of other fruits and vegetables. We therefore began using cantaloupe as bait and it appeared that we captured more gophers with cantaloupe than we did using other baits or no bait. To evaluate whether this observation was correct, we conducted a trial in fall of 2015 in the Flour Bluff area of Corpus Christi, Texas. This study was designed to compare using cantaloupe with using granola and gopher scat bait.Active gopher mounds were located by identifying those that were darker in color due to the moisture still present in the sand. An

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supporting

confidence: 92%

mentioning

confidence: 93%

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A Simpler Strategy for Live-Trapping Pocket Gophers (Rodentia: Geomyidae)

Hansler¹,

Hansler

Baskin

2019

The Texas Journal of Science

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“…Pocket gopher mounds generally indicate the direction of tunnels and can be used to examine directional movements indicative of homing (Hansler et al 2017). Using animals that survived more than three consecutive tracking sessions, we measured deviations of pocket gopher mound trajectories (mean direction of mounds produced during the tracking period) or aboveground movements from a straight line between release and capture sites in ArcMap 10.5 (ESRI 2016).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Translocation represents a potential management approach for reestablishing populations into restored habitats, but few studies have examined the efficacy of pocket gopher translocation. Hansler et al (2017) observed low mortality in translocated maritime pocket gophers ( Geomys personatus maritimus Davis) and that individuals generally reamined near the release area, indicating translocation as a potential management option. Pynne et al (2019) observed increased movements by translocated southeastern pocket gophers leading to high predation rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental translocation for restoration of an ecosystem engineer

Pynne

Conner

Castleberry

et al. 2023

Restoration Ecology

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The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) savanna ecosystem in North America has declined by 97% from its historic range and its restoration is a conservation priority. The southeastern pocket gopher (Geomys pinetis), an ecosystem engineer in longleaf pine savannas, is absent from most of its historic range. Translocation of pocket gophers may be needed to reestablish ecosystem services of restored longleaf savannas. To determine translocation feasibility, we quantified survival, site fidelity, and homing of pocket gophers translocated using soft releases (with a starter burrow system; n = 13), hard releases (without a starter burrow system; n = 17), or released into their own burrows (control; n = 10). Naïve survival was 46 and 35% for soft-and hardreleased individuals, respectively, and 80% for controls. Most mortalities of translocated individuals (75.0%) occurred within 12 days. Including all radiotagged pocket gophers, daily survival of soft-released animals ( b S = 0.990) was intermediate between hard-released ( b S = 0.986) and controls ( b S = 0.993), and only hard-released was lower than controls. Using only individuals that survived greater than 14 days, we found no difference in daily survival. Site fidelity was low, with 70% of translocated pocket gophers making aboveground movements away from release point. However, soft-released individuals stayed at the release point three times longer than hard-released animals. No pocket gopher exhibited homing. Our results suggest translocation has potential for establishing pocket gopher populations into restored longleaf pine savannas and that mitigating mortality during establishment will increase the likelihood of success.

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