Fecal samples were collected over 27 months from the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw)), a mycophagist in the Pacific Northwest portion of its range. Nine genera of hypogeous Basidiomycetes, 10 of hypogeous Ascomycetes, and 1 of hypogeous Zygomycetes were identified from fecal samples (hypogeous fungi fruit underground). The squirrel food habits generally paralleled the seasonal availability of the hypogeous fungi, but with notable exceptions. Our data demonstrate the functional diversity an individual species lends to its habitat when viewed in a functional context.
Concern about the value of old-growth Douglas-fir forests to wildlife in the Pacific Northwest began escalating in the late 1 970s. The available information on wildlife habitat relationships suggested that as many as 75 species including amphibians, birds, and mammals, could be dependent on old-growth forests. The USDA Forest Service chartered the Old-Growth Forest Wildlife Habitat Program to investigate the role old growth plays in maintaining viable populations of wildlife. It was apparent that broad surveys of vertebrate communities would be necessary to determine which species truly were closely associated with old-growth forests. Insufficient guidance on techniques, procedures, and sample sizes was available in the existing literature. We assembled a team of researchers from universities and Federal agencies to conduct pilot studies to develop sampling protocols and to test the basic experimental design for contrasting the wildlife values of young, mature, and old-growth forests. The sampling protocols resulting from the pilot studies were implemented in 1984-86 across broad areas of the Cascade Range in southwestern Washington and Oregon, the Oregon Coast Ranges, and the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon and northern California. Naturally, improvements were made to the protocols as time passed. A tremendous amount of experience in sampling was gained. Our goal in this series is to compile the extensive experiences of our collaborators into a collection of methodology papers providing biologists with pilot study-type information for planning research or monitoring populations. The series will include papers on sampling bats, aquatic amphibians, terrestrial amphibians, forest-floor mammals, small forest birds and arboreal rodents, as well as papers on using telemetry for spotted owls studies and a guide to bird calls.
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