Final Report for the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission April 1, 2008 Title: Home range and habitat use of the eastern spotted skunk in the Ouachita Mountains. Principle Investigators: Matthew Gompper, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 (
[email protected]; 573-882-9424) Joshua Millspaugh, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 (
[email protected]; 573-882-9423) Research Coordinator: Blake Sasse, Nongame Mammal Program Coordinator, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, No. 2 Natural Resource Dr., Little Rock, AR 72205 (
[email protected]; 501-223-6370) Graduate Student: Damon Lesmeister, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 (current address: Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901
[email protected]; 618-303-2882) Executive Summary The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) was one a common and economically important furbearer, but is now listed as endangered, threatened, or a species of conservation concern throughout much of its historical range. In Arkansas the eastern spotted skunk was listed as a species of conservation concern in 2006. Because virtually nothing is known about the fundamental ecology of the species or the potential effects of forest management strategies on habitat use, we undertook a research project to elucidate home range dynamics and habitat selection of an eastern spotted skunk population in the Ouachita National Forest of western Arkansas. We conducted telemetry-based field work over a two year period , ultimately monitoring the movements and habitat selection of 33 eastern spotted skunks. We used kernel-based utilization distributions, volume of intersection indices, and weighted compositional analysis to evaluate seasonal home range dynamics and habitat selection.