Nest Tree Use by Southern Flying Squirrels in Fragmented Midwestern Landscapes James S
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Digital Repository @ Iowa State University Natural Resource Ecology and Management Natural Resource Ecology and Management Publications 2018 Nest tree use by southern flying squirrels in fragmented Midwestern landscapes James S. Zweep Western Illinois University Christopher N. Jacques Western Illinois University Sean E. Jenkins Western Illinois University Robert W. Klaver U.S. Geological Survey, [email protected] Shelli A. Dubay FUonilvloerwsit ythi of sW aiscondn asiddn - itStionevenals Pwoiorknt s at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/nrem_pubs Part of the Animal Sciences Commons, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Forest Sciences Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, and the Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons The ompc lete bibliographic information for this item can be found at https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ nrem_pubs/282. For information on how to cite this item, please visit http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ howtocite.html. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Natural Resource Ecology and Management Publications by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Nest tree use by southern flying squirrels in fragmented Midwestern landscapes Abstract Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans; SFS) nest in naturally formed cavities in snags and hardwoods found in mature, oak (Quercus spp.)–hickory (Carya spp.) forests. Intensive forest fragmentation of the Midwest United States limits the number of available nesting trees. We quantified annual nest‐site selection patterns by southern flying squirrels across fragmented landscapes of west‐central Illinois, USA. We used radiotelemetry to measure nest‐tree use by 55 SFS (30 males, 25 females) captured during 2014–2016. Of 105 nest trees used by SFS, live trees and snags comprised 75% and 25%, respectively. Probability of diurnal nest‐tree use increased 1.08/1.00‐cm increase in diameter‐breast‐height and by 1.50/1‐unit increase in the number of overstory mast trees between random and nest‐tree habitat areas (i.e., 300‐m2 circular plots). Similarly, probability of diurnal nest‐tree use increased 1.29/1‐unit increase in the number of snags between random and nest‐tree habitat areas. Our results revealed no intersexual differences in patterns of nest‐site selection, which may reflect the tendency for SFS to compensate for reduced availability of key structural attributes (i.e., snags, overstory trees) across fragmented forests by exhibiting similar intersexual patterns of nest‐tree use. Use of natural cavities for denning is encouraging, but also underscores the importance of unharvested oak–hickory forests in contributing essential habitat to SFS populations in fragmented Midwestern landscapes. Keywords diurnal nest trees, fragmentation, Glaucomys volans, Illinois, nest-site selection, southern flying squirrel Disciplines Animal Sciences | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Forest Sciences | Natural Resources and Conservation | Natural Resources Management and Policy Comments This article is published as Zweep, James S., Christopher N. Jacques, Sean E. Jenkins, Robert W. Klaver, and Shelli A. Dubay. "Nest tree use by southern flying squirrels in fragmented Midwestern landscapes." Wildlife Society Bulletin (2018). doi: 10.1002/wsb.901. Rights Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The onc tent of this document is not copyrighted. This article is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/nrem_pubs/282 Wildlife Society Bulletin; DOI: 10.1002/wsb.901 Original Article Nest Tree Use by Southern Flying Squirrels in Fragmented Midwestern Landscapes JAMES S. ZWEEP, Department of Biological Sciences, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455, USA CHRISTOPHER N. JACQUES,1 Department of Biological Sciences, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455, USA SEAN E. JENKINS, Department of Biological Sciences, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455, USA ROBERT W. KLAVER, U.S. Geological Survey, Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA SHELLI A. DUBAY, College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI 54481, USA ABSTRACT Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans; SFS) nest in naturally formed cavities in snags and hardwoods found in mature, oak (Quercus spp.)–hickory (Carya spp.) forests. Intensive forest fragmentation of the Midwest United States limits the number of available nesting trees. We quantified annual nest-site selection patterns by southern flying squirrels across fragmented landscapes of west-central Illinois, USA. We used radiotelemetry to measure nest-tree use by 55 SFS (30 males, 25 females) captured during 2014–2016. Of 105 nest trees used by SFS, live trees and snags comprised 75% and 25%, respectively. Probability of diurnal nest-tree use increased 1.08/1.00-cm increase in diameter-breast-height and by 1.50/1-unit increase in the number of overstory mast trees between random and nest-tree habitat areas (i.e., 300-m2 circular plots). Similarly, probability of diurnal nest-tree use increased 1.29/1-unit increase in the number of snags between random and nest-tree habitat areas. Our results revealed no intersexual differences in patterns of nest-site selection, which may reflect the tendency for SFS to compensate for reduced availability of key structural attributes (i.e., snags, overstory trees) across fragmented forests by exhibiting similar intersexual patterns of nest-tree use. Use of natural cavities for denning is encouraging, but also underscores the importance of unharvested oak–hickory forests in contributing essential habitat to SFS populations in fragmented Midwestern landscapes. Ó 2018 The Wildlife Society. KEY WORDS diurnal nest trees, fragmentation, Glaucomys volans, Illinois, nest-site selection, southern flying squirrel. The southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans; SFS) is a populations, possibly because SFS are better able to secondary cavity nester, and commonly found in forested minimize heat loss during cold climates in cavities than in regions throughout eastern and central United States and external nests (Bendel and Gates 1987, Carey et al. 1997, Canada (Muul 1968, Bendel and Gates 1987, Taulman Bakker and Hasting 2002, Lavers 2004, Menzel et al. 2004). 1999, Holloway and Malcolm 2007). Nest sites are Large cavity trees appear to be especially important as winter important habitat features for SFS and provide diurnal den sites and for pregnant females (Carey et al. 1999, Lavers refugia from inclement weather and predation and feeding 2004). Therefore, cavities may be critical for overwinter sites during nocturnal activity periods (Weigl 1978, Taulman survival of SFS in low-productivity habitats characterized by 1999, Brady et al. 2000, Holloway and Malcolm 2007, smaller forest patches and relatively low snag densities Steinhoff et al. 2012). The spatial distribution and (Jacques et al. 2017a). Consequently, knowledge of nest-tree abundance of large, diseased, or damaged trees have been characteristics is critical to conserving adequate nesting linked directly to SFS nesting strategies (Carey et al. 1997, habitat for SFS, particularly along the western edge of their Menzel et al. 2004). Several types of nests have been geographic range (DeGraaf and Shigo 1985, Naylor et al. identified, including natural or excavated tree cavities, 1996). external leaf nests, and subterranean nests under downed A key conservation issue pertaining to SFS relates to effects logs and tree roots (Hackett and Pagels 2003). Cavity nests of habitat fragmentation on fine-scale habitat use (Bendel tend to be most prevalent in areas with high snag densities, and Gates 1987, Taulman et al. 1998, Holloway and with incidence of cavity use especially high in northern Malcolm 2007, Steinhoff et al. 2012). Fragmentation of forested ecosystems over the past 200 years has been extensive, and particularly evident across Midwestern land- scapes (Lomolino and Perault 2001, Desrochers et al. 2003, Received: 18 December 2017; Accepted: 13 May 2018 Taulman and Smith 2004, Koprowski 2005, Smith and 1E-mail: [email protected] Person 2007). In Illinois, USA, forested landscapes have Zweep et al. Flying Squirrel Nest-Tree Use 1 been reduced by 64% and currently characterized by young patterns of SFS; and 2) determine whether nest-tree use (<61 yr old) oak (Quercus spp.)–hickory (Carya spp.) forests differed between male and female SFS in west-central Illinois. limited to the southern and western regions of the state Given notable changes in social behavior and reproductive (Crocker 2015). Recently, Jacques et al. (2017a) noted the activities (i.e., territoriality and high energy demands on importance of large (35 cm diameter-at-breast height females during parturition and rearing of young; Madden [DBH]) overstory mast trees in predicting home range use 1974, Bendel and Gates 1987, Fridell and Litvaitis 1991) and spatial activity patterns of SFS across fragmented forest between sexes, we hypothesized that tree characteristics at landscapes; such may also be the case for diurnal nest-site diurnal nest sites would vary seasonally between male