Ethoecologi of the Round-Tailed Ground
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Ethoecology of the round-tailed ground squirrel, Spermophilus tereticaudus Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Drabek, Charles Martin, 1942- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 10/10/2021 00:09:37 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/332155 . ETHOECOLOGI OF THE ROUND-TAILED GROUND SQUIRREL, SPERMOPHILUS TERETICAUDUS bgr Charles Martin Drahek A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN ZOOLOGY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1970 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE I hereby recommend that this dissertation prepared under my direction by CHARLES MARTIH DMBEK_____________ entitled Ethoecology of the Round-tailed ground squirrel. Spermophilns tereticaudua,__________________________ be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement of the degree of ________ Doctor of Philosophy______ ._____________ (y-MW-i iA/yv\- 1 7 d Dissertation Director Date After inspection of the final copy of the dissertation, the following members of the Final Examination Committee concur in its approval and recommend its acceptance:* k>v * 4 y v i {^yp ? Ay m •y IXteu? /f 7 3 This approval and acceptance is contingent on the candidate's adequate performance and defense of this dissertation at the final oral examination. The inclusion of this sheet bound into the library copy of the dissertation is evidence of satisfactory performance at the final examination. STATEMENT BY AUTHOR , This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library„ Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made* Requests for permission for extended quotation from or repro duction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however,.permission must be ob tained from the author. j ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank Dr® E® Lendell Cockrum for his advice and contributions throughout ray graduate work. I thank Drs® Stephen M® Russell $ Albert Re . Meads Everett H. Lindsay and Donald L. Bryan t who critically read the manuscript and offered many helpful suggestions. Most of the field work was conducted while I resided at the University of Arizona-Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum. I greatly acknowledge the financial assistance provided through University of . Arizona~NSF institutional grants 5701”003=»8ll~b2 and 5701'= 0Q3=-155-ay in 1967 and 1968 respectively, as well as the staff at the Arboretum. V . ■■ . ■■ - ' --'.r Finally, I wish to acknowledge my wife, Jane, who by aiding me with all phases of this study, as well as maintaining a full time teaching job, deserves more credit than the average wife. ill TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES „ „ . „ . O 0 0 vi ° • 0 ° 0 • , „ . O o. o 0 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ° 0 ® ® • •• « » o o . o o o b o o • o 0 viii ABSTRACT ° « 0 ® 0 ® • 0 ° • . , „ . , © o INTRODUCTION O .0 » ® •. • o • 1 DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA. o o o o o ® 0 ° ® 0 •» o • 3 . 0. 10 METHODS AND MATERIALS. ° ° 0 o ® 0 0 •• Study Area ..... o o 0 o o 0 e 9 o 0 0 10 Squirrel Enclosure . © 6 o 0 o O © o ■O O © 0 O o o . 10 Trapping and Marking Techniques. o O o 9 0 O 0 0 o o o o 11 Behavioral Observations. o o 0 9 o o 0 o 0 0 o o o . 15 Movement Analysis. 0 C o O 0 0 0 O O o o o 0 o 16 '' Burrow Excavation. o o O 0 e o 0 0 9 0 0 0 o o . 0 16 Climatological Data. ° ° ° ° ® 0 0 6 • 0 16 MAINTENANCE BEHAVIOR . ■0 O o o p 0 0 O 0 ® • o o o 17 . Locomotion . „ „ . © c .. 0 0 ; 17 Grooming . b o OO O o 0 0 0 o 0 o O 19 Exploration. .... 0 o o O o o o 9 O o o Q 0 o 0 O 21 Ingestion. o o O 0 O o 0 9 9 O 9 0 o 0 o o 22 Elimination. , . o 0 o 0 © © ' 0 .© 0 o- O. OOO 23 Alertness. O © o o O 0 o O 0 0 0 O 23 Digging. ...... o O O 0 0 © o 0 0 0 0 24 Grass Gathering. O O 0 o 0 0 0 O. 0 0 0 O o' 25 Tail-flicking. 0 o ° ° ° 0 0 0 ° ® •* * 26 ENVIRONMENTAL ADAPTATIONS. ° ° 0 °. ° 0 ® o o o 28 Burrows. 0 0 © 0 o O 0 28 Torpor. ....... 0 0 c 0 0 ° 0 ° o ° © •• 32 ^OOD HABITS. ....... 4» 0 o * o o e © 0 0 9 O 0 o 36 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page COMMUNICATION OOO0O 0OO 0 006000 OOOOOOOOO 41 V O G 8 3 . OOCOO 0 0 0006 o o 41 Olfactory . o » « . o o 45 Tactile e oo- e o o o o-O o o o 46 V ISUalooeoceoeooo 46 COMPETITIVE AND-PREDATORY FACTORS OOOOOOOOOOOOOO 48 Predators ©oo o » ® © o @ o o © o 48 Competitors © © © ® ® . © « 6 . © O o 53 BEHAVIOR;IN THE ENCLOSURE © © © © o o o o o o o.e o o o o o o : 55 ACTIVITY PATTERNS oOO.OOOOOOOO OOOCOOOOOOO 59 AtHZ112.8-3o. 0000000©C 6 0 0 © o o 59 Daily Activity© © © © © © © o 6 o o 59 POPULATION DYNAMICS e o o o g o o o o c o o o o o o o o o - o o Population -Structure and Density. o o 64 Sex Ratios © © © © © © © © © © © © 67 Population Turnover and Dispersal 67 Home Range© © © © © © © © © © © © 6 6 69 Familiarity of Home Range 79 Intraspecific Intolerance 80 INTRASPECIFIC BEHAVIOR OOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Epimeletic Behavior © © © © © © © 85 Play©o©e©ooo©e©©oo© 86 Agonistic Behavior. © © © © © © © 9 6 0 O 86 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS © © © © © © © © OOOCOOOOO OO 89 REFERENCES CITED 9 e 6 e Q © © 6 O G G 6 © O 6 © O 6 0 6 G O G 102 LIST OF TABLES Table 1„ Flora of the study area « , e . .= • •• . „ * . 2 0 Ninety of the dye marks used to identify individual ground scjumrelSo © © © © © © © © © © © © © - © © © © 3© Mean burrow temperatures at various distances from the entrance, and depths and lengths of excavated burrow systems (N in parentheses) © © « © © © » © « 4© Food preferences noted during 166 observations of feeding round-*tail s © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 5© Vertebrate fauna occurring or observed in the study area© ©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©©© 6. The population structure of the Round-tailed ground squirrels captured in the study area in June, July and August of 1967 and 1968 * © © © © © © . © © 7© Population structure of resident ground squirrels © 8= The percentage of the 1967 resident squirrels found in the study area in 1968 ©».*©© . © © © © « © 9© The estimated home range size, standard error of the mean and range in acres for 1967 and 1968 resident squirrels © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © © 10. The frequency at which the home ranges of the 1968 resident squirrels overlapped with intraspecific V O li lp £> e c o o o e cneeco eeoo osooe o o 11. Comparative behavioral traits and responses to predators for various species of Soermophilus . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page I, Location of the study area and vieinity in ' south-central Arizona * * , , * « . , . * , , « * * a » 4 2* Mean monthly precipitation for the Station,and Florence, Arizona « o o o o o o O o 0 O o 6 0 0 o o 8 3= Temperature ranges of the Station and Florence, AriZOha * a a a a a o a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 9 4a Some common postures associated with the egocentric behavior patterns of the Round-tailed ground squirrel 18 5a Mean number of round-tails observed above ground and mean ambient: temperatures during June, July and \ A U g U S t S U r V e y S a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a b l 6„ Home ranges of an adult male, squirrel 1-100, during the 1968 summer months 0 . a « = = , a . a . » a 75 7 a Home ranges of an adult female, squirrel 3-60, before and after its four young left the home burrow „ . a » e a 76 80 Home ranges of a juvenile female, squirrel 30-80, before and after leaving its home burrow, , , 0 a a a 0 a 78 vii ABSTRACT Bthoecological aspects of a natural population of Round-tailed ground squirrels, Spermonhllus tereticaudus neglectus Merriam, v?ere investigated during 1967 and 1968 in a Sonoran Desert Larrea zone,in south-central Arizona. The squirrel population in a 25 acre study area was marked for permanent and observational identification to elucidate adaptive behavior and population structure6 Maintenance behavior is described and its possible role in communication is discussed. Exploratory behavior is Shown to.be an important feature in the establishment and familiarization of a home range. The utilization of burrows played an important role in the round-tail’s adaptation to a desert environment. Structure, mainten ance, temperatures and diurnal use of the subterranean systems are discussed.