Tree Squirrels As Invasive Species: Conservation and Management Implications
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Squirrels and Allies (Sciuridae Spp.)
Squirrels and Allies (Sciuridae Spp.) There are about 275 species of tree, ground, and flying squirrels throughout the world, ranging from the five-inch pygmy squirrel (Myosciurus pumilio) of Africa to the nearly three-foot giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) of Asia. Currently, there are five species of squirrel found in Rhode Island: The Eastern gray squirrel, the Southern flying squirrel, the red squirrel, the chipmunk, and the woodchuck. Tree squirrels are those species that nest in trees, while ground squirrels nest in underground burrows. This publication is intended to provide information on the above species found in Rhode Island. Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) Gray squirrels are the most common species of squirrel in Rhode Island. They are a tree squirrel, however they spend much of their time on the ground, and have adapted well to human-altered environments. They are commonly found in urban and suburban habitats. Gray squirrels can be grayish-brown, gray or black, with a white or light brown underside. Adults range in size from 15 to 20 inches, and between 1 to 1 ½ pounds. Their bushy tail accounts for almost half of their length. Gray squirrels may live between four and eight years in the wild, but they have been known to live up to ten years in captivity. They are active mainly during the day and do not hibernate. In the winter they spend days at a time in their nests, leaving only to gather food. Their habitat is mainly any wooded area with mast producing trees, where they live in tree cavities or leaf nests. -
Hand-Rearing and Rehabilitation of Orphaned Palm Squirrels, Funambulus Sp
Hand-rearing and Rehabilitation of Orphaned Palm Squirrels, Funambulus sp. Devna Arora The Palm Squirrel A young 5-striped Indian palm squirrel Palm squirrels are palm-sized rodents with thick, bushy tails that belong to the genus Funambulus and the subfamily Calloscuirinae, a subfamily of squirrels found in Asia. The genus Funambulus comprises of 5 species of squirrels widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent with the subgenus of Prasadsciurus found right up to Iran. For ease of classification and understanding of behaviour, I prefer to group these squirrels based on their proximity to human settlements. The two species of palm squirrels commonly found in urban, suburban and rural landscapes are: • Indian 3-Striped Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) which has a more southern distribution and is commonly found in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Rehabber’s Den © 2013 1 Hand-rearing and rehabilitation of orphaned palm squirrels, Funambulus sp. • Indian 5-Striped Palm Squirrel (Funambulus pennantii) which has a more northern distribution in India and in commonly found in central and northern India as well as Nepal, Pakistan and Iran. The two species can easily be distinguished by counting the number of paler coloured stripes on the squirrel’s back. The squirrels range from 22.5 cm to 40 cm in length, which includes a tail of 11–12 cm long, and weigh between 100–200 gm. Data suggests that palm squirrels live on average for 5-6 years in captivity although individuals have been known to live longer. They may only breed seasonally in the northern distribution of their ranges but breed all-year round otherwise. -
Symposium on the Gray Squirrel
SYMPOSIUM ON THE GRAY SQUIRREL INTRODUCTION This symposium is an innovation in the regional meetings of professional game and fish personnel. When I was asked to serve as chairman of the Technical Game Sessions of the 13th Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners this seemed to be an excellent opportunity to collect most of the people who have done some research on the gray squirrel to exchange information and ideas and to summarize some of this work for the benefit of game managers and other biologists. Many of these people were not from the southeast and surprisingly not one of the panel mem bers is presenting a general resume of one aspect of squirrel biology with which he is most familiar. The gray squirrel is also important in Great Britain but because it causes extensive damage to forests. Much work has been done over there by Monica Shorten (Mrs. Vizoso) and a symposium on the gray squirrel would not be complete without her presence. A grant from the National Science Foundation through the American Institute of Biological Sciences made it possible to bring Mrs. Vizoso here. It is hoped that this symposium will set a precedent for other symposia at future wildlife conferences. VAGN FLYGER. THE RELATIONSHIPS OF THE GRAY SQUIRREL, SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS, TO ITS NEAREST RELATIVES By DR. ]. C. MOORE INTRODUCTION It seems at least slightly more probable at this point in our knowledge of the living Sciuridae, that the northeastern American gray squirrel's oldest known ancestors came from the Old \Vorld rather than evolved in the New. -
Tree Squirrels
Tree Squirrels When the public is polled regarding suburban and urban wildlife, tree squirrels generally rank first as problem makers. Residents complain about them nesting in homes and exploiting bird feeders. Interestingly, squirrels almost always rank first among preferred urban/suburban wildlife species. Such is the Figure 1. The Eastern gray squirrel is from the deciduous paradox they present: We want them and we don’t and mixed coniferous-deciduous forests of eastern North want them, depending on what they are doing at any America, and was introduced into city parks, campuses, given moment. and estates in Washington in the early 1900s. (Drawing by Elva Paulson) Although tree squirrels spend a considerable amount of time on the ground, unlike the related ground squirrels, they are more at home in trees. Washington is home to four species of native tree squirrels and two species of introduced tree squirrels. Native Washington Tree Squirrels The Douglas squirrel, or chickaree (Tamiasciurus douglasii) measures 10 to 14 inches in length, including its tail. Its upper parts are reddish-or brownish-gray, and its underparts are orange to yellowish. The Douglas squirrel is found in stands of fir, pine, cedar, and other conifers in the Cascade Mountains and western parts of Washington. The red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, Fig. 4) is about the same size as the Douglas squirrel and lives in coniferous forests and semi-open woods in northeast Washington. It is rusty-red on the upper part and white or grayish white on its underside. The Western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus, Fig. 2) is the largest tree squirrel in Washington, ranging from 18 to 24 inches in length. -
Eastern Gray Squirrel Survival in a Seasonally-Flooded Hunted Bottomland Forest Ecosystem
Squirrel Survival in a Flooded Ecosystem. Wilson et al. Eastern Gray Squirrel Survival in a Seasonally-Flooded Hunted Bottomland Forest Ecosystem Sarah B. Wilson, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Dr. Auburn University, AL 36849 Stephen S. Ditchkoff, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Dr. Auburn University, AL 36849 Robert A. Gitzen, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Dr. Auburn University, AL 36849 Todd D. Steury, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Dr. Auburn University, AL 36849 Abstract: Though the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is an important game species throughout its range in North America, little is known about environmental factors that may affect survival. We investigated survival and predation of a hunted population of eastern gray squirrels on Lown- des Wildlife Management Area in central Alabama from July 2015–April 2017. This area experiences annual flooding conditions from November through the following September. Our Kaplan-Meier survival estimate at 365 days for all squirrels was 0.25 (0.14–0.44, 95% CL) which is within the range for previously studied eastern gray squirrel populations (0.20–0.58). There was no difference between male (0.13; 0.05–0.36, 95% CL) and female survival (0.37; 0.18–0.75, 95% CL, P = 0.16). Survival was greatest in summer (1.00) and fall (0.65; 0.29–1.0, 95% CL) and lowest during winter (0.23; 0.11–0.50, 95% CL). We found squirrels were more likely to die during the flooded winter season and mortality risk increased as flood extent through- out the study area increased. -
Relational Database Systems 1
Relational Database Systems 1 Wolf-Tilo Balke Jan-Christoph Kalo Institut für Informationssysteme Technische Universität Braunschweig www.ifis.cs.tu-bs.de Summary last week • Data models define the structural constrains and possible manipulations of data – Examples of Data Models: • Relational Model, Network Model, Object Model, etc. – Instances of data models are called schemas • Careful: Often, sloppy language is used where people call a schema also a model • We have three types of schemas: – Conceptual Schemas – Logical Schemas – Physical Schemas • We can use ER modeling for conceptual and logical schemas Relational Database Systems 1 – Wolf-Tilo Balke – Institut für Informationssysteme – TU Braunschweig 2 Summary last week • Entity Type Name • Weak Entity Type Name • Attribute name • Key Attribute name • name Multi-valued Attribute name name • Composite Attribute name • Derived Attribute name • Relationship Type name • Identifying Relationship Type name EN 3.5 Relational Database Systems 1 – Wolf-Tilo Balke – Institut für Informationssysteme – TU Braunschweig 3 Summary last week • Total participation of E2 in R E1 r E2 • Cardinality – an instance of E1 may relate to multiple instances of E2 (0,*) (1,1) E1 r E2 • Specific cardinality with min and max – an instance of E1 may relate to multiple instances of E2 (0,*) (0,1) E1 r E2 EN 3.5 Relational Database Systems 1 – Wolf-Tilo Balke – Institut für Informationssysteme – TU Braunschweig 4 3 Extended Data Modeling • Alternative ER Notations • Extended ER – Inheritance – Complex Relationships -
FUNAMBULUS SPP., the STRIPED PALM SQUIRRELS 21.1 the Living Animal 21.1.1 Zoology the Striped Palm Squirrels Are Small Rodents W
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE FUNAMBULUS SPP., THE STRIPED PALM SQUIRRELS 21.1 The Living Animal 21.1.1 Zoology The striped palm squirrels are small rodents with a head and body length of about 13–15 cm, and a tail which is slightly longer than the body (Plate 29). The two common species of South Asia are the three-striped or southern Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) with three white stripes running along its dark brown back, and the fi ve-striped or northern Indian palm squirrel (F. pennanti) with two additional white stripes running on the fl anks, parallel to the three dorsal stripes.1 The most important difference between the two spe- cies is that the fi ve-striped squirrel is essentially commensal with man. It has become almost as dependent on man for food and shelter as house rats and mice, and lives in crowded towns, cities and villages where it shelters in houses, gardens, groves, hedges and in roadside trees. The three-striped squirrel, on the contrary, is a forest animal. It has a particularly shrill bird-like call which it repeats again and again, accompanied by quick jerks of its tail. Both species inhabit the Indian peninsula from the base of the Himalayas southwards, but the fi ve-striped squirrel is more common in northern India, particularly in the drier and more arid portions and extends into the dry plains of the South. The three-striped squirrel predominates in the South, and in the moister parts of western and eastern India. Both species may, however, occur in the same area. -
Diverse Nectar Robbers on Alpinia Roxburghii Sweet (Zingiberaceae)
Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity 8 (2015) 238e241 HOSTED BY Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/japb Short communication Diverse nectar robbers on Alpinia roxburghii Sweet (Zingiberaceae) Xiaobao Deng a, Wen Deng b, Alice Catherine Hughes c, Dharmalingam Mohandass a,* a Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun Town, Yunnan, PR China b Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiaochang Donglu, Kunming, Yunnan, PR China c Centre for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun Town, Yunnan, PR China article info abstract Article history: This study records for the first time three mammal species as nectar robbers on the ginger Alpinia Received 29 April 2015 roxburghii Sweet. We examined the behavior of nectar robbers and compared with earlier studies on a Received in revised form single plant species. We recorded seven species of nectar robbers: three squirrels, one bird, and three 29 July 2015 bees. Timing of robbing nectars were similar; however, robbing behavior differed among robbers. In Accepted 30 July 2015 particular, squirrels damaged the flower parts while robbing the nectar. Available online 18 August 2015 Copyright Ó 2015, National Science Museum of Korea (NSMK) and Korea National Arboretum (KNA). Production and hosting by Elsevier. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// Keywords: animal behavior creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). ginger plant mammal-nectar robbers tropical seasonal rainforest Introduction studied in detail. Therefore, nectar robbers on ginger species could be a relevant topic to understand ecological consequences. -
Phylogeny, Biogeography and Systematic Revision of Plain Long-Nosed Squirrels (Genus Dremomys, Nannosciurinae) Q ⇑ Melissa T.R
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 94 (2016) 752–764 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ympev Phylogeny, biogeography and systematic revision of plain long-nosed squirrels (genus Dremomys, Nannosciurinae) q ⇑ Melissa T.R. Hawkins a,b,c,d, , Kristofer M. Helgen b, Jesus E. Maldonado a,b, Larry L. Rockwood e, Mirian T.N. Tsuchiya a,b,d, Jennifer A. Leonard c a Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, National Zoological Park, Washington DC 20008, USA b Division of Mammals, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington DC 20013-7012, USA c Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Avda. Americo Vespucio s/n, Sevilla 41092, Spain d George Mason University, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 20030, USA e George Mason University, Department of Biology, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 20030, USA article info abstract Article history: The plain long-nosed squirrels, genus Dremomys, are high elevation species in East and Southeast Asia. Received 25 March 2015 Here we present a complete molecular phylogeny for the genus based on nuclear and mitochondrial Revised 19 October 2015 DNA sequences. Concatenated mitochondrial and nuclear gene trees were constructed to determine Accepted 20 October 2015 the tree topology, and date the tree. All speciation events within the plain-long nosed squirrels (genus Available online 31 October 2015 Dremomys) were ancient (dated to the Pliocene or Miocene), and averaged older than many speciation events in the related Sunda squirrels, genus Sundasciurus. -
Wildlife Species
Wildlife Species This chapter contains information on species featured in each of the ecoregions. Species are grouped by Birds, Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish. Species are listed alphabetically within each group. A general description, habitat requirements, and possible wildlife management practices are provided for each species. Wildlife management practices for a particular species may vary among ecoregions, so not all of the wildlife management practices listed for a species may be applicable for that species in all ecoregions. Refer to the WMP charts within a particular ecoregion to determine which practices are appropriate for species included in that ecoregion. The species descriptions contain all the information needed about a particular species for the WHEP contest. However, additional reading should be encouraged for participants that want more detailed information. Field guides to North American wildlife and fish are good sources for information and pictures of the species listed. There also are many Web sites available for wildlife species identification by sight and sound. Information from this section will be used in the Wildlife Challenge at the National Invitational. Participants should be familiar with the information presented within the species accounts for those species included within the ecoregions used at the Invitational. It is important to understand that when assessing habitat for a particular wildlife species and considering various WMPs for recommendation, current conditions should be evaluated. That is, WMPs should be recommended based on the current habitat conditions within the year. Also, it is important to realize the benefit of a WMP may not be realized soon. For example, trees or shrubs planted for mast may not provide cover or bear fruit for several years. -
Mammals of the Finger Lakes ID Guide
A Guide for FL WATCH Camera Trappers John Van Niel, Co-PI CCURI and FLCC Professor Nadia Harvieux, Muller Field Station K-12 Outreach Sasha Ewing, FLCC Conservation Department Technician Past and present students at FLCC Virginia Opossum Eastern Coyote Eastern Cottontail Domestic Dog Beaver Red Fox Muskrat Grey Fox Woodchuck Bobcat Eastern Gray Squirrel Feral Cat Red Squirrel American Black Bear Eastern Chipmunk Northern Raccoon Southern Flying Squirrel Striped Skunk Peromyscus sp. North American River Otter North American Porcupine Fisher Brown Rat American Mink Weasel sp. White-tailed Deer eMammal uses the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for common and scientific names (with the exception of Domestic Dog) Often the “official” common name of a species is longer than we are used to such as “American Black Bear” or “Northern Raccoon” Please note that it is Grey Fox with an “e” but Eastern Gray Squirrel with an “a”. Face white, body whitish to dark gray. Typically nocturnal. Found in most habitats. About Domestic Cat size. Can climb. Ears and tail tip can show frostbite damage. Very common. Found in variety of habitats. Images are often blurred due to speed. White tail can overexpose in flash. Snowshoe Hare (not shown) is possible in higher elevations. Large, block-faced rodent. Common in aquatic habitats. Note hind feet – large and webbed. Flat tail. When swimming, can be confused with other semi-aquatic mammals. Dark, naked tail. Body brown to blackish (darker when wet). Football-sized rodent. Common in wet habitats. Usually doesn’t stray from water. Pointier face than Beaver. -
Squirrels of Sulawesi: an Introduction
Squirrels of Sulawesi: An introduction by David Mead 2013 Sulang Language Data and Working Papers: Topics in Lexicography, no. 26 Sulawesi Language Alliance http://sulang.org/ SulangLexTopics026-v1 LANGUAGES Language of materials : English ABSTRACT This article has two parts. The first part comprises thumbnail sketches of the twelve squirrel species found on the island of Sulawesi. The second part is a description of some other small mammals which may potentially be confused with squirrels, at least during the initial phases of lexicography research. TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1: Checklist of squirrel species; Giant squirrels; Beautiful squirrels; Dwarf squirrels; Long-nosed squirrels; Part 2: Some similar animals from around Indonesia; Tarsiers; Tree shrews; Flying squirrels; Colugos; Sugar gliders; Cuscuses; References. VERSION HISTORY Version 2 [31 July 2014] Checklist updated to accord with Musser et al. (2010) and to a greater or lesser extent all thumbnail descriptions revised. Version 1 [26 June 2013] Drafted October 2010, significantly revised June 2013. © 2010–2014 by David Mead Text is licensed under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license. Images are licensed as individually noted in the text. Squirrels of Sulawesi: An introduction by David Mead This article has two parts. The first part comprises thumbnail sketches of the twelve squirrel species found on the island of Sulawesi, as they are currently recognized. The second part is a description of some other small mammals which may potentially be confused with squirrels, at least during the initial phases of lexicography research before the live animal is encountered. My source for squirrel species present on Sulawesi is Musser et al.