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SURVEY of FLYING SQUIRRELS and THEIR ASSOCIATION with VEGETATION COMMUNITIES on MOUNT DESERT ISLAND (Acadia National Park), MAINE

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SURVEY of FLYING SQUIRRELS and THEIR ASSOCIATION with VEGETATION COMMUNITIES on MOUNT DESERT ISLAND (Acadia National Park), MAINE SURVEY OF FLYING SQUIRRELS AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH VEGETATION COMMUNITIES ON MOUNT DESERT ISLAND (Acadia National Park), MAINE Final Report By Jennifer Higgins! Department of Wildlife Ecology, University of Maine Orono, ME 04469 & Allan F. O'Connell, Jr.2 Cooperative Park Studies Unit, National Park Service University of Maine Orono, ME 04469 & Frederick A. Servello Department of Wildlife Ecology University of Maine Orono, ME 04469 August 1998 !: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Wildlife Resources Assessment Section, 650 State St., Bangor, ME 044001-4450 2: Cooperative Park Studies Unit, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5768 -,, ANPFSQRii Abstract Northern, Glaucomys sabrinus, and southern, G. volans, flying squirrels both occur in Maine, but there is uncertainty about range overlap throughout southcentral Maine where the southern flying squirrel reaches geographic range limits. Species occurrence and study of interactions in these areas provide important information on the ability of popUlations to survive 'under less than optimal conditions. We surveyed flying squirrels in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island (MDI), Maine during the summer of 1992. We compared vegetation characteristics between forest stands with and without squirrel populations and between capture locations and locations without captures. Northern flying squirrel populations (22 individuals) were located in two conifer stands and one mixed conifer-hardwood (i.e., deciduous) stand; a single individual also was captured in a hardwood stand. Capture rates for northern flying squirrels were within the range reported for other areas. In the mixed conifer-hardwood stand, flying squirrels were captured at locations with significantly larger deciduous trees. Deciduous seedling density was greater at capture locations than locations without captures in both conifer stands with squirrel populations (p = 0.01,0.05). Relatively dense deciduous seedlings in an aging conifer forest, typical ofMDI, may provide better cover and protection from predators. Large deciduous trees, typically with more cavities, may provide a greater opportunity for den sites. During this century there has been only one report of a single southern flying squirrel captured at a specific site (Pickett Mountain) on MDI; other reports have not been documented. We were not able to capture southern flying squirrels on MDI during this study. The occurrence of northern flying squirrels in our mixed-wood stand is evidence that southern flying squirrels did not occur in this stand because southern flying squirrels are known to displace northerns in sympatric populations. Periodic surveys should continue at about 10 year intervals to maintain the continuity of previous work on MDI. Future surveys should sample a variety of areas over the entire island, employ longer trapping periods (214 days) to insure extensive coverage for a rare species, and consider collection of voucher specimens to verify species identification, validate subsequent work, and effectively document local biodiversity. ANPFSQRiii Table of Contents Abstract........................................................................................................................ 11 List of Tables....... ..... ... ....... ..... ........... .... ............ .......... .............. ....... ............. ............. IV Introduction and Background...................................................................................... 1 Study Area... ... .... ...... ... ... ......... ...... ...... .... ....... .......... ... ......... ... ..... ....... ..... ...... ... ....... ... 2 Methods........................................................................................................................ 2 Results and Discussion................................................................................................ 3 Recommendations..... .... ... ............................... ..... ... ..... ... ... .... .......... ..... ... .... ............... 5 Acknowledgments.... ....... ... ............. .............. ..... ..... ..... ... ....... ........ .................... ..... .... 6 Literature Cited.. ....... .... ...... ............... ...... .............. ..... ... ... .......... ..... ....... ........... .......... 6 Appendix A. .... ... ...... ..... .... ..... ....... ................ ........ ..... ... ... .... ... ... ... ....... .... .... ... ............ 18 ANPFSQRiv List of Tables Table 1. Mean density (per ha) of trees (> I 0 cm dbh) in 8 potential habitats for flying squirrels in Acadia National Park on MD!, ME. Bold, italic type denotes areas where squirrel populations (;:::: 2 individuals) were found............................................................................................................. 10 Table 2. Capture rates (captures/l 00 trap nights) for flying squirrels at 8 sites in Acadia National Park on MDI, ME...................................................................................................................... 11 Table 3. Age, sexes, and weights (g) for northern flying squirrels captured in Acadia National Park on MDI, ME......................................................................................................................................................... 12 Table 4. Comparison of habitat characteristics of sites with and without northern flying squirrel populations in Acadia National Park on MDI, ME............................................................................................. 13 Table 5.· The mean number oflogs/ha and snags/ha for three sites where flying squirrels occurred (> 1 individual) and 4 sites where no squirrels were captured in Acadia National Park on MDI, ME................ 14 Table 6. Density (trees/ha) and Shannon index of species diversity for tree species> 4 dbh at eight sights in Acadia National Park on MD!, ME.......................................................................................... 15 Table 7. Comparison of tree diameters and stem densities between trap sites where squirrels were captured compared to locations without squirrel captures in Acadia National Park on MDI, ME...................... 17 ANPFSQRl Introduction and Background· Two species of flying squirrels occur in North America and both occur in Maine. Northern flying squirrels are widespread throughout the state (Hall 1981: 450) whereas the range and distribution of southern flying squirrels are less well known (Cameron 1976). Hall's (1981) geographic range limit for the southern species includes a portion of Maine (modified from the first edition of Hall and Kelson [1959]) but no records ofvolans are listed for this state. The scientific literature, however, documents six occurrences ofthe southern flying squirrel in Maine (Cameron 1976) with the most northern sites at North Anson and Eastport. Muul (1968) indicated the range limit for volans was limited by temperature, and Cameron (1976) points out that North Anson is at the "extreme limits" of these temperature isotherms. MDI, located along the mid-coast of Maine and south of North Anson, is within the range limits for the southern flying squirrel, and although both species have been reported from MDI, the status ofvolans remains uncertain because reports have been poorly documented. The two species can be sympatric, although the relationship has been termed variable and exclusive, even unstable (Weigl 1978, u.s. FWS 1990). Thus, areas like MDI, where the southern flying squirrel reaches range limits and potentially overlaps with the northern species, may provide an opportunity to study unique interspecific and sympatric relationships (Weigl 1978, Payne et al. 1989). Furthermore, Acadia National Park is the dominant land use on MDI, and because the National Park Service (NPS) seeks to inventory local resources, detailed information on flying squirrels will assist Park managers in making more informed decisions related to resource management. American flying squirrels are associated with different forest communities. Northern flying squirrels are typically found in conifer vegetation that include mature red spruce, Picea rubra, balsam fir, Abies balsamea and yellow birch, Betula alleghaniensis, but can also be found in deciduous vegetation (i.e., hardwoods), especially when overlap with the southern flying squirrel does not occur. Southern flying squirrels are usually associated with the deciduous forest (MuuI1968, Weigl 1978) and are considered vegetation specialists compared to their northern congeners. Preferred vegetation communities consist of mature hardwood stands composed of red oak, Quercus rubra, sugar maple, Acer saccharum, American beech, Fagus grandifolia, and yellow birch. Other tree species often found on these sites are white birch, Betula papyrifera, white ash, Fraxinus americana, butternut, Juglans cinerea, trembling aspen, . Populus tremuloides, and eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (Cameron 1976). A high density of snags, downed logs, and dense canopy cover are important for both species of American flying squirrels (Carey et al. 1997), and although omnivorous, each generally prefers different foods (Weigl 1978). Determination of important habitat characteristics for flying squirrels in the northeastern United States has been limited to a few studies, with most work done on the southern species (Madden 1974, Fridell and Litvaitis 1991). The objectives ofthis study were to review the historical
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