DOCSLIB.ORG

Placement and Recovery of Seed Caches by a Solitary Rodent

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Placement and Recovery of Seed Caches by a Solitary Rodent PLACEMENT AND RECOVERY OF SEED CACHES BY A SOLITARY RODENT, ORD’S KANGAROO RAT (DIPODOMYS ORDII) Except where reference is made to the work of others, the work described in this dissertation is my own or was done in collaboration with my advisory committee. This dissertation does not include proprietary or classified information. _____________________________________________________ Jeremy Andrew White _____________________________ ______________________________ Robert S. Lishak Troy L. Best, Chair Associate Professor Professor Biological Sciences Biological Sciences _____________________________ ______________________________ Michael C. Wooten George Flowers Professor Interim Dean Biological Sciences Graduate School PLACEMENT AND RECOVERY OF SEED CACHES BY A SOLITARY RODENT, ORD’S KANGAROO RAT (DIPODOMYS ORDII) Jeremy Andrew White A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Auburn, Alabama August 9, 2008 PLACEMENT AND RECOVERY OF SEED CACHES BY A SOLITARY RODENT, ORD’S KANGAROO RAT (DIPODOMYS ORDII) Jeremy Andrew White Permission is granted to Auburn University to make copies of this dissertation at its discretion, upon request of individuals or institutions at their expense. The author reserves all publication rights. __________________________________________ Signature of Author __________________________________________ Date of Graduation iii VITA Jeremy Andrew White, son of Rockey Craig White and Nancy Tinstman Remington, was born 11 June 1975, in Reno, Nevada. He moved to Elko, Nevada, in 1989 and graduated from Elko High School in 1993. After high school, Jeremy enrolled in the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and in 1997, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in organismal biology from UNLV. After graduation, he moved to Reno and from 1997 to 2000 Jeremy worked as a substitute teacher for Washoe County School District, a lab instructor at Truckee Meadows Community College, and a wildland firefighter for the Bureau of Land Management. Enjoyment from interactions with students at the community college and from exploring the Great Basin Desert and other regions while firefighting, prompted Jeremy to pursue a graduate degree in ecology. He began his graduate work at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2000 under the direction of Kenneth N. Geluso who taught Jeremy an appreciation for natural history and ecology and trained him as a field mammalogist. Jeremy completed his M.A. degree in biology in 2003 and went on to obtain his Ph.D. in ecology under Troy L. Best at Auburn University. iv DISSERTATION ABSTRACT PLACEMENT AND RECOVERY OF SEED CACHES BY A SOLITARY RODENT, ORD’S KANGAROO RAT (DIPODOMYS ORDII) Jeremy Andrew White Doctor of Philosophy, August 9, 2008 (M. A., University of Nebraska, Omaha, 2003) (B.S., University of Nevada Las Vegas, 1997) 164 typed pages Directed by Troy L. Best Seed caching is a common behavior that has important ecological consequences for seed- hoarding animals, granivorous competitors, and plants whose seeds are harvested and stored. Despite the significance of this behavior, patterns of storage and recovery of caches for many food-hoarding animals in the wild remain poorly understood. For example, many rodents are prolific and dynamic seed hoarders, storing large quantities of seeds in larderhoards (repeated deposits of seeds in a centralized location) and scatterhoards (small, scattered, subsurface caches), yet few factors that influence placement of caches by rodents have been identified. Furthermore, no study has examined seasonal shifts in placement of caches by seed-storing animals that forage throughout the year. Preliminary investigations revealed that Ord’s kangaroo rats v (Dipodomys ordii) are active year-round in the Sandhill Region of Nebraska and that these rodents deposit seeds of soapweed yucca (Yucca glauca) in both larderhoards and scatterhoards. This unique situation provided an opportunity to investigate use of burrows, seed-caching patterns, and recovery of caches by a solitary rodent in the wild. Ord’s kangaroo rats inhabited burrows alone and typically used multiple burrows in summer, but only 1 burrow in winter. Additionally, individuals took yucca seeds directly to burrows in winter (larderhoarding), but distributed seeds into shallowly buried caches in summer (scatterhoarding). Kangaroo rats likely larderhoarded seeds in winter to have convenient access to resources and because few suitable sites were available to scatterhoard seeds in this season. In summer, kangaroo rats placed caches in a clumped arrangement closer to seed sources than to burrows, following the rapid-sequestering hypothesis. In a test of recovery of caches, kangaroo rats did not have a distinct advantage over pilferers in recovering their own scatterhoards of yucca seeds. Although seed caches were recovered quickly, most caches were only partially recovered. Finally, burrows of Ord’s kangaroo rats were simple in structure and contained few seeds in summer; reinforcing the observation that larderhoarding was uncommon in this population in summer. Overall, evidence indicates that Ord’s kangaroo rats are flexible seed hoarders as they switch patterns of seed storage and use of burrows seasonally. Furthermore, their storage and incomplete recovery of caches has important implications for dispersal of plants in the Sandhill Region. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I extend sincere appreciation and gratitude to many people for without whom this dissertation would not have been possible. My wife Kerri deserves an enormous amount of credit; not only did she provide unwavering support, she also endured wasp stings, gnat swarms, and near heat stroke as my most valuable and reliable field assistant. Keith Geluso deserves credit for the initial observations that provided the framework of this dissertation and for his friendship, support, and help in the field. Others who I thank for providing assistance in the field include Marlin French, Mary Harner, Devon McGillivary, John Ong, Brian Pauly, Steve Racine, Nancy Remington, Ron Remington, Michael Sellers, Jonathan Shore, Julie Teskie, and Josh White. I also thank Troy L. Best and Ed Wester for providing equipment and the Alabama Academy of Sciences and the Graduate School at Auburn University for providing funding. I am extremely grateful to the staff at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, especially Neil Powers and Marlin French, for allowing me to conduct research at the refuge and for providing housing during my field work. I also thank my committee, Troy L. Best, Michael C. Wooten, and Robert S. Lishak, for all of their efforts in improving this dissertation. Additionally, I thank the following individuals for their support, mental assistance, or both: Sara Gardner, Ken Geluso, Michelle Gilley, David Gummer, Sam Hirt, John Hunt, Charles Kilgore, Lisa McWilliams, Paul Moosman, John Peterson, Vikki Peterson, Steve Samoray, Dale Tinstman, Jean Tinstman, and Steven Vander Wall. vii Style manual or journal used: Journal of Mammalogy Computer software used: Microsoft Word 2003 and 2007, Microsoft Excel 2003, SAS for Windows: v. 9.1 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF APPENDICES....................................................................................................xv INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 LITERATURE CITED............................................................................................8 CHAPTER 1: USE OF BURROWS BY A SOLITARY RODENT, ORD’S KANGAROO RAT (DIPODOMYS ORDII), IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................14 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................15 MATERIALS AND METHODS...........................................................................18 RESULTS ..............................................................................................................24 DISCUSSION........................................................................................................26 LITERATURE CITED ..........................................................................................32 CHAPTER 2: SEASONAL DIFFERENCES IN METHOD OF FOOD HOARDING BY ORD’S KANGAROO RAT (DIPODOMYS ORDII) IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................42 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................43 MATERIALS AND METHODS...........................................................................49 ix RESULTS ..............................................................................................................55 DISCUSSION........................................................................................................58 LITERATURE CITED ..........................................................................................65 CHAPTER 3: RECOVERY OF SEED CACHES BY ORD’S KANGAROO RATS (DIPODOMYS ORDII): IMPLICATIONS FOR DISPERSAL OF SOAPWEED YUCCA (YUCCA
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Beaver's Phylogenetic Lineage Illuminated by Retroposon Reads
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN The Beaver’s Phylogenetic Lineage Illuminated by Retroposon Reads Liliya Doronina1,*, Andreas Matzke1,*, Gennady Churakov1,2, Monika Stoll3, Andreas Huge3 & Jürgen Schmitz1 Received: 13 October 2016 Solving problematic phylogenetic relationships often requires high quality genome data. However, Accepted: 25 January 2017 for many organisms such data are still not available. Among rodents, the phylogenetic position of the Published: 03 March 2017 beaver has always attracted special interest. The arrangement of the beaver’s masseter (jaw-closer) muscle once suggested a strong affinity to some sciurid rodents (e.g., squirrels), placing them in the Sciuromorpha suborder. Modern molecular data, however, suggested a closer relationship of beaver to the representatives of the mouse-related clade, but significant data from virtually homoplasy- free markers (for example retroposon insertions) for the exact position of the beaver have not been available. We derived a gross genome assembly from deposited genomic Illumina paired-end reads and extracted thousands of potential phylogenetically informative retroposon markers using the new bioinformatics coordinate extractor fastCOEX, enabling us to evaluate different hypotheses for the phylogenetic position of the beaver. Comparative results provided significant support for a clear relationship between beavers (Castoridae) and kangaroo rat-related species (Geomyoidea) (p < 0.0015, six markers, no conflicting data) within a significantly supported mouse-related clade (including Myodonta, Anomaluromorpha, and Castorimorpha) (p < 0.0015, six markers, no conflicting data). Most of an organism’s phylogenetic history is fossilized in their heritable genomic material. Using data from genome sequencing projects, particularly informative regions of this material can be extracted in sufficient num- bers to resolve the deepest history of speciation.
    [Show full text]
  • Platypus Collins, L.R
    AUSTRALIAN MAMMALS BIOLOGY AND CAPTIVE MANAGEMENT Stephen Jackson © CSIRO 2003 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all permission requests. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Jackson, Stephen M. Australian mammals: Biology and captive management Bibliography. ISBN 0 643 06635 7. 1. Mammals – Australia. 2. Captive mammals. I. Title. 599.0994 Available from CSIRO PUBLISHING 150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139) Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia Telephone: +61 3 9662 7666 Local call: 1300 788 000 (Australia only) Fax: +61 3 9662 7555 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.publish.csiro.au Cover photos courtesy Stephen Jackson, Esther Beaton and Nick Alexander Set in Minion and Optima Cover and text design by James Kelly Typeset by Desktop Concepts Pty Ltd Printed in Australia by Ligare REFERENCES reserved. Chapter 1 – Platypus Collins, L.R. (1973) Monotremes and Marsupials: A Reference for Zoological Institutions. Smithsonian Institution Press, rights Austin, M.A. (1997) A Practical Guide to the Successful Washington. All Handrearing of Tasmanian Marsupials. Regal Publications, Collins, G.H., Whittington, R.J. & Canfield, P.J. (1986) Melbourne. Theileria ornithorhynchi Mackerras, 1959 in the platypus, 2003. Beaven, M. (1997) Hand rearing of a juvenile platypus. Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Shaw). Journal of Wildlife Proceedings of the ASZK/ARAZPA Conference. 16–20 March.
    [Show full text]
  • Acouchi (Myoprocta Pratti)
    HISTOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON THE OVARY AND OF PROGESTERONE LEVELS IN THE SYSTEMIC BLOOD OF THE GREEN ACOUCHI (MYOPROCTA PRATTI) I. W. ROWLANDS, W. and D. G. KLEIMAN* Wellcome Institute of Comparative Physiology, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, N.W.I (Received 1st January 1970) Summary. Combined histological and biochemical studies have been made in a small series of pregnant and non-pregnant acouchis. All pregnant animals had twin foetuses and their ovaries contained two to five large corpora lutea (cl) of ovulation and variable numbers of accessory cl which were very much smaller in size and bore evidence of having arisen from un-ovulated follicles. Normal Graafian follicles were also present, together with many small atretic follicles. The true corpora reached maximum size by the end of the 2nd week of pregnancy and had regressed before parturition. The occurrence of maximum secretory activity in early pregnancy, as indicated from esti¬ mates of the mean size of luteal cells, was confirmed by assays of luteal progesterone concentration. The accessory cl tended to increase in number as pregnancy advanced. The luteal cells, though slightly smaller, were otherwise indistinguish¬ able from those of the true corpora and, depending on the stage of preg¬ nancy, contributed 25 to 100% of the total amount of progesterone secreted by the ovary. In early pregnancy, plasma progesterone concentration increased rapidly to a level that was four times as great as that found in non-preg¬ nant acouchis, and which thereafter declined. The rate of growth and decline of the cl of pregnancy, their secretory activity and the levels ofprogesterone in the systemic blood are compared with those reported in some other hystricomorph rodents.
    [Show full text]
  • Primates of the Lower Río Urubamba, Peru
    16 Neotropical Primates 19(1), December 2012 PRIMATES OF THE LOWER URUBAMBA REGION, PERU, WITH COMMENTS ON OTHER MAMMALS Tremaine Gregory1,2, Farah Carrasco Rueda1, Jessica L. Deichmann1, Joseph Kolowski1, and Alfonso Alonso1 1Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 2Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected] Abstract We present data on encounter rates and group sizes of primates in the Lower Urubamba Region of Peru, an unprotected area little represented in the literature. We censused a total of 467.7km on 10 transects during two seasons and documented nine primate species in the area. Compared to nearby protected areas, group encounter rates were lower and group sizes were smaller for all species except Saguinus fuscicollis and S. imperator. Relatively high abundance of S. imperator and low abun- dance of larger bodied primates is a possible example of density compensation resulting from hunting pressure. In addition to the primates, 23 other mammal species were observed or photographed by camera traps, including Procyon cancrivorus, which was not previously reported in the area. Keywords: Lower Urubamba, Peru, primate densities Resumen Presentamos los datos de tasas de encuentro y tamaños grupales de especies de primates en la Región del Bajo Urubamba en Perú, un área no protegida poco representada en la literatura. Censamos un total de 467.7km a lo largo de 10 transectos durante dos estaciones y documentamos la presencia de nueve especies de primates en el área. Comparando nuestros datos con los de áreas protegidas cercanas, las tasas de encuentro fueron bajas y los tamaños grupales fueron menores para todas las especies a excepción de Saguinus fuscicollis y S.
    [Show full text]
  • Dipodomys Ingens)
    Species Status Assessment Report for the Giant Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys ingens) Photo by Elizabeth Bainbridge Version 1.0 August 2020 Prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service August 2020 GKR SSA Report – August 2020 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the giant kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ingens) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1987 due to the threats of habitat loss and widespread rodenticide use (Service 1987, entire). The giant kangaroo rat is the largest species in the genus that contains all kangaroo rats. The giant kangaroo rat is found only in south-central California, on the western slopes of the San Joaquin Valley, the Carrizo and Elkhorn Plains, and the Cuyama Valley. The preferred habitat of the giant kangaroo rat is native, sloping annual grasslands with sparse vegetation (Grinnell, 1932; Williams, 1980). This report summarizes the results of a species status assessment (SSA) that the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) completed for the giant kangaroo rat. To assess the species’ viability, we used the three conservation biology principles of resiliency, redundancy, and representation (together, the 3Rs). These principles rely on assessing the species at an individual, population, and species level to determine whether the species can persist into the future and avoid extinction by having multiple resilient populations distributed widely across its range. Giant kangaroo rats remain in fragmented habitat patches throughout their historical range. However, some areas where giant kangaroo rats once existed have not had documented occurrences for 30 years or more. The giant kangaroo rat is found in six geographic areas (units), representing the northern, middle, and southern portions of the range.
    [Show full text]
  • Matses Indian Rainforest Habitat Classification and Mammalian Diversity in Amazonian Peru
    Journal of Ethnobiology 20(1): 1-36 Summer 2000 MATSES INDIAN RAINFOREST HABITAT CLASSIFICATION AND MAMMALIAN DIVERSITY IN AMAZONIAN PERU DAVID W. FLECK! Department ofEveilltioll, Ecology, alld Organismal Biology Tile Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210-1293 JOHN D. HARDER Oepartmeut ofEvolution, Ecology, and Organismnl Biology Tile Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210-1293 ABSTRACT.- The Matses Indians of northeastern Peru recognize 47 named rainforest habitat types within the G61vez River drainage basin. By combining named vegetative and geomorphological habitat designations, the Matses can distinguish 178 rainforest habitat types. The biological basis of their habitat classification system was evaluated by documenting vegetative ch<lracteristics and mammalian species composition by plot sampling, trapping, and hunting in habitats near the Matses village of Nuevo San Juan. Highly significant (p<:O.OOI) differences in measured vegetation structure parameters were found among 16 sampled Matses-recognized habitat types. Homogeneity of the distribution of palm species (n=20) over the 16 sampled habitat types was rejected. Captures of small mammals in 10 Matses-rc<:ognized habitats revealed a non-random distribution in species of marsupials (n=6) and small rodents (n=13). Mammal sighlings and signs recorded while hunting with the Matses suggest that some species of mammals have a sufficiently strong preference for certain habitat types so as to make hunting more efficient by concentrating search effort for these species in specific habitat types. Differences in vegetation structure, palm species composition, and occurrence of small mammals demonstrate the ecological relevance of Matses-rccognized habitat types. Key words: Amazonia, habitat classification, mammals, Matses, rainforest. RESUMEN.- Los nalivos Matslis del nordeste del Peru reconacen 47 tipos de habitats de bosque lluvioso dentro de la cuenca del rio Galvez.
    [Show full text]
  • Hopping and Running on Two Legs Or Four from R
    Nature Vol. 287 18 September 1980 187 Hopping and running on two legs or four from R. McNeil/ Alexander MOST mammals run on all fours but some run on just two legs (like men) or hop (like kangaroos). Some birds run, some hop and some do both. What are the relative merits of the different gaits? Do they differ in energy cost? Energy costs of running and hopping can be inferred from measurements of oxygen consumption. Some of the difficulties of physiological experimentation on moving animals can be avoided by training the Dipodomys deserti hopping on a moving belt to assess energy consumption. Experimental details animal to run on a moving belt as are given by Thompson et al. on p.223 of this issue of Nature. shown. Data has been collected for mammals ranging from mice to horses and different for animals of different sizes. running because it involves larger fluc­ lions, and for many birds (summarized by Until recently the data seemed to indicate tuations of potential energy (Alexander & 0 6 Fedak & Seeherman Nature 282, 713; that k was proportional to (body mass) · Goldspink Mechanics and energetics of 1979). Nearly all of it conforms to a simple for quadrupeds but to (body mass)0·8 for animal locomotion, 1977). rule: the power Prequired for level running bipeds. Consequently bipedalism was more Similar calculations grossly under­ at speed u is given by economical than quadrupedalism for small estimate the power requirements of small animals, but less economical for large ones. runners and hoppers, such as mice and P(.u)=P(O)+ku (1) Why, then, are there small quadrupeds quail: indeed they predict that k should be (such as mice) and large bipeds (such as proportional to (body mass)1.
    [Show full text]
  • Small Mammal Population Dynamics and Range Shifts with Climate
    RESOURCES, DATA RESOLUTION AND SMALL MAMMAL RANGE DYNAMICS Nerissa Haby B. Env. Sci. (Hons) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2012 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Adelaide, Australia Table of contents Table of contents i Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Declaration iv How well do existing evaluations of climate change impacts on range Introduction 1 dynamics represent Australian small mammals? Improving performance and transferability of small-mammal species Chapter 1. 8 distribution models Chapter 2. Specialist resources are key to improving small mammal distribution models 22 Scale dependency of metapopulation models used to predict climate change Chapter 3. 35 impacts on small mammals Lessons from the arid zone: using climate variables to predict small mammal Chapter 4. 52 occurrence in hot, dry environments Ecosystem dynamics, evolution and dependency of higher trophic organisms Chapter 5. 69 on resource gradients Conclusion 79 References 89 Appendix 106 Publications associated with this thesis 153 i Abstract Extensive range shift and mass extinctions resulting from climate change are predicted to impact all biodiversity on the basis of species distribution models of wide-spread and data-rich taxa (i.e. vascular plants, terrestrial invertebrates, birds). Cases that both support and contradict these predictions have been observed in empirical and modelling investigations that continue to under-represent small mammal species (Introduction). Given small mammals are primary or higher order consumers and often dispersal limited, incorporating resource gradients that define the fundamental niche may be vital for generating accurate estimates of range shift. This idea was investigated through the influence of coarse to fine resolution, landscape- and quadrat-scale data on the range dynamics of four temperate- and five arid-zone small mammals.
    [Show full text]
  • Species Examined.Xlsx 8:17 PM 5/31/2011
    8:17 PM 5/31/2011 Names Accepted Binomial Name, Family Page Binomial Name, Page Common Name as of 2011, as given in Sperber if different than in Sperber Monotremata 264 Duckbilled Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus 264 Marsupialia 266 Slender‐tailed Dunnart Sminthopsis murina 266 Kultarr Antechinomys laniger 268 Gray Four‐eyed Opossum Philander opossum Didelphys opossum 269 (or possibly Virginia Opossum) ( or Didelphis virginiana) Eastern Grey Kangaroo Macropus giganteus 269 Insectivora 272 Elephant Shrew Macroscelides sp. 272 Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus 273 Eurasian Pygmy Shrew Sorex minutus 274 Eurasian Water Shrew Neomys fodiens 279 Pygmy White Toothed Suncus etruscus Pachyura etrusca 280 (or Etruscan ) Shrew Russian Desman Desmana moschata 280 Chiroptera 281 Greater Flying Fox Pteropus vampyrus Pteropus edulis 281 (Kalong, Kalang) Northern Bat Eptesicus nilssonii Pipistrellus nilssoni 283 Particoloured Bat Vespertilio murinus 285 Xenarthra 287 and Pholidota Armadillos, anteaters and pangolins: Review of the literature only Rodentia 288 European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus 288 Eurasian Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris 293 Eurasian Beaver Castor fiber 294 Agile Kangaroo Rats Dipodomys agilis Perodipus agilis 296 Fresno Kangaroo Rat Dipodomys nitratoides exilis Dipodomys meriami exilis 297 Lesser Egyptian Jerboa Jaculus jaculus 298 Field (or Short‐tailed) Vole Microtus agrestis 299 Bank Vole Myodes glareolus Evotomys glareolus 303 European (or Northern) Water Arvicola terrestris 303 Vole Black Rat Rattus Rattus Epimys rattus 303 House Mouse
    [Show full text]
  • Kangaroo Rat and Pocket Mouse
    Shrew Family Order Rodentia (Soricoidae) masked shrew vagrant shrew water shrew Sorex cinereus Sorex vagrans Sorex palustris grassland streambank streambank Mouse, Vole, Rats, and Muskrat (Cricetidae) meadow vole long-tailed vole heather vole Microtus pennsylvanicu Microtus longicaudus Phenacomys intermedius grassland streambank streambank/grassland/mountain Gapper’s red-backed vole deer mouse Western harvest mouse Clethrionomys gapperi Peromycus maniculatus Reithrodontomys megalotis mountain mountain/streambank grassland bushy-tailed woodrat Neotoma cinerea mountain rock mouse Northern grasshopper mouse Peromyscus difficilis Onychomys leucogaster mountain grassland Jumping Mouse Kangaroo Rat and Family Pocket Mouse silky pocket mouse (Zapodidae) (Heteromyidae) Perognathus flavus desert Western jumping mouse Ord’s kangaroo rat Apache pocket mouse Zapus princeps Dipodomys ordii Perognathus apache streambank desert mountain 1:1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 inches 1 - Rodents Tracks are actual size. Pocket Gopher Porcupine Family Order Rodentia Family (Erethizonidae) (Geomyidae) Beaver Family (Castoridae) porcupine Erethizon dorsatum mountains/grasslands scale 1:3 beaver Castor canadensis streams/lakes/wetlands Northern pocket gopher scale 1:3 Thomomys talpoides grasslands scale 1:1 1:3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 inches Squirrel Family (Sciuridae) least chipmunk Colorado chipmunk chicaree Eutamias minimus Eutamias quadrivittatus Tamiasciurus douglassi mountain/grassland mountain forest Abert’s squirrel Sciurus aberti kaibabensis mountain/forest rock ground squirrel golden-mantled ground Spermophilus variegatus squirrel mountain Spermophilus lateralis streambank yellow-bellied marmot Gunnison’s prairie dog thirteen-lined ground squirrel Marmota flaviventris Cynomys gunnisoni Spermophilus tridecemlineatus mountain/rockslide grassland grassland 1:1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 inches 2 - Rodents Rodentia tracks vary in size. Sciuridae tracks are actual size.
    [Show full text]
  • The Feasibility of Reintroducing African Wild Dogs (Lycaon Pictus) Into the Great Fish River Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa
    The feasibility of reintroducing African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) into the Great Fish River Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa. A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE of RHODES UNIVERSITY By SAMANTHA KARIN PAGE February 2014 Abstract With a declining population of roughly 3000-5000 individuals in Africa, African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are one of the most endangered carnivores in the world. As the global human population expands, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that large portions of land will be set aside for conservation, especially in developing countries. Thus, recent wild dog conservation efforts in South Africa have concentrated on establishing a managed metapopulation. A metapopulation is a group of geographically isolated subpopulations of a species that are managed (using supplementation and harvesting) to mimic natural gene flow. The Great Fish River Nature Reserve (GFRNR) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa has been identified as a potential reserve to become part of the national wild dog metapopulation. My research aimed to conduct a feasibility assessment of the long-term (~ 25 years) success of a wild dog reintroduction into the GFRNR. This assessment included biological modelling of wild dogs and their expected prey, and determining the potential anthropogenic threats to wild dogs on the private and communal land surrounding the reserve. I used VORTEX population modelling and determined that the GFRNR is likely to have a wild dog carrying capacity of ~22 individuals. Using a 25-year modelling simulation, the most appropriate wild dog reintroduction scenario would be to reintroduce six females and four males initially and supplement the population with one female and two males in years 3, 10, 15 and 23.
    [Show full text]
  • Instituto Nacional De Pesquisas Da Amazônia – Inpa Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ecologia
    INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE PESQUISAS DA AMAZÔNIA – INPA PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM ECOLOGIA USO DE HABITAT E OCORRÊNCIA DE ROEDORES CAVIOMORFOS NA AMAZÔNIA CENTRAL, BRASIL FERNANDA DE ALMEIDA MEIRELLES Manaus, Amazonas Novembro, 2012 1 FERNANDA DE ALMEIDA MEIRELLES USO DE HABITAT E OCORRÊNCIA DE ROEDORES CAVIOMORFOS NA AMAZÔNIA CENTRAL, BRASIL ORIENTADOR: Dr. EDUARDO MARTINS VENTICINQUE Co-orientador: Dr. Torbjørn Haugaasen Dissertação apresentada ao Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do título de Mestre em Biologia (Ecologia). Manaus, Amazonas Novembro, 2012 ii Banca examinadora não-presencial: Dra. Camila Righetto Cassano – Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz Parecer: Aprovada com correções Dra. Maria Luisa da Silva Pinto Jorge – Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio Mesquita Filho Parecer: Aprovada com correções Dr. José Manuel Vieria Fragoso – Universidade de Standfor, Califórnia (EUA) Parecer: Aprovada Banca examinadora presencial em 26 de novembro de 2012: Dr. Marcelo Gordo – Universidade Federal do Amazonas Parecer: Aprovada Dr. Paulo Estefano Dineli Bobrowiec – Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia Parecer: Aprovada Dr. Pedro Ivo Simões – Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia Parecer: Aprovada iii Sinopse: Estudei o uso de habitat e o efeito da distribuição de castanhais sobre a ocorrência de pacas, cotias e cutiaras na Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Piagaçu - Purus. Para isso distribuímos 107 câmeras-trap em locais com e sem exploração de castanha- do-Brasil. As variáveis ambientais, utilizadas como preditoras da ocorrência das espécies, foram medidas em campo ou extraídas de bases geográficas digitais. Os resultados indicam que as três espécies de roedores ocorrem preferencialmente em áreas com alta densidade de drenagem e distantes de comunidades humanas.
    [Show full text]