The ecology of Glaucomys volans (Linnaeus, 1758) in Virginia

Abstract

The ecology of the southern flying squirrel, Glaucomys volans (L i nn a e u s, 1758) was studied in 2 areas of central Virginia, using artificial tree shelter traps and baited live trapping. Within one year after their installation, 46.9% of the artificial shelters were used for nesting sites, 26.6% as feeding stations, and 17.2% as defecatoria; only 9.4% were without evidence of use. The animals utilized several shelters for nesting in addition to others used for food storage and defecatoria. In habitat selection, availability of bodies of fresh water was important, but the slope of the terrain was not significant. Foraging (average range 126.8 m ± 14.8 S.E.) was not significantly related to distance from aquatic habitat. Adult males foraged substantially farther than sexually inactive females or juveniles. Most females (94.2%) became pregnant within 6-8 months after birth. Birth of young occurred in early spring, March and April, and in late summer, from August to early October. Removal rate of young squirrels from the population by mortality was 50% within 5.5 months and 67% in 7 months. Population density, estimated by the Petersen index and regression analysis of recapture frequency, varied at different seasons from 4.5 to 10.1 flying squirrels/ha at one of the localities, and from 6.2 to 13.8/ha at the other.

Vegetative associations affecting Glaucomys volans in central Virginia

“…Our findings suggest that canopy vegetation influences flying squirrel use of different habitats, though not as strongly as the shrub Layer. Mixed lowland, oak and yellow poplar dominated types were utilized with significantly greater frequency, even when the influence of freshwater (Sonenshine et al, 1979) was excluded. Pine and oak-pine dominated areas were utilized infrequently and nests of food caches were never observed in cavities in pine trees or shelters attached to such trees.…”

“…Artificial shelter traps (Sonenshine et al, 1973) were installed on trees in the 3 areas in geometrically regular grids at intervals of 31.2 m as described by Sonenshine et al, (1979); 127 traps were placed in Area A, 49 in Area B, and 77 in Area C. Traps were monitored at regular intervals throughout the study periods. Baited live trapping, conducted only from June through September, was done with Sherman traps (7.6X7.6X25.4 cm) installed on trees at the same sites as the artificial tree shelters, at an elevation of 2.4 m, as described by Sonenshine et al, (1979). Captured animals were ear tagged (Salt Lake City Stamp Co., Salt Lake City, Utah), and their weight, sex, estimated age (Solberger, 1943) and reproductive condition were recorded.…”

Aspects of reproduction in the southern flying squirrel in Florida

“…In Virginia, most females became pregnant at 6-8 months of age (Sonenshine et al, 1979). In this study, the minimum known breeding age among six females marked as subadults was 10 months (one individual).…”

“…Hibbard (1935) captured a female with four embryos in a nest with four two-thirdsgrown young in Kentucky. In Virginia, 5 of 27 females became pregnant for a second time 6 months post-partum (Sonenshine et al, 1979). Linzey & Linzey (1979) documented a possible case of superfetation in G. volans.…”

“…Moore, 1942Moore, , 1947Sollberger, 1943;Muul, 1969Muul, , 1970Muul, , 1974Goertz et al, 1975;Heidt, 1977;DeCoursey, 1978;! Linzey & Linzey, 1979;Sonenshine et al, 1979;Sawyer & Rose, 1985) have suggested the existence of latitudinal trends in certain aspects of reproduction in this species. The two major hypotheses that have been presented are: (1) the breeding season shifts from spring to late summer in the north to late summer through late winter in the .south (DeCoursey, 1978) and (2) litter size decreases with decreasing latitude (Goertz et al, 1975;Sawyer & Rose, 1985).…”