Home range and habitat use of the Vulnerable Virginia northern flying squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus in the Central Appalachian Mountains, USA

Abstract

The Virginia northern flying squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus is a Vulnerable sciurid that has experienced a 90% reduction of suitable high elevation boreal montane forest habitat over the last century in the central Appalachians of West Virginia and Virginia, USA. Using radiotelemetry and GIS analyses we examined the species' home range size and habitat use in the Monongahela National Forest, Kumbrabow State Forest and the MeadWestvaco Ecosystem Research Forest in West Virginia during the summers of 2000–2003. The mean home range sizes of male and female squirrels were 54.2 and 15.3 ha, respectively, based on the adaptive kernel method. Euclidean distance analysis indicated the squirrels used spruce, mixed spruce-northern hardwood, and open habitats more than was available across the landscape. Selection of spruce and mixed spruce-northern hardwood habitats indicates that forest management activities designed to restore and increase these types in the central Appalachian landscape are required to conserve and increase this Vulnerable species.

Home Range of the Australian Squirrel Glider, Petaurus norfolcensis (Diprotodontia)

“…However, replication of studies to confirm such a result has occurred for few species and home-range size may vary geographically, particularly with variation in habitat quality (e.g., Bendel and Gates 1987;Fridell and Litvaitis 1991;Menzel et al 2006). The yellow-bellied glider (P. australis) is 1 species for which adequate replication has occurred to confirm that home-range size is consistently large (Goldingay and Jackson 2004;Goldingay and Quin 2004).…”

“…Squirrel gliders use food resources on a seasonal basis in response to changing patterns of abundance (Dobson et al 2005;Menkhorst and Collier 1987;Sharpe and Goldingay 1998), resulting in the home range being used unevenly during the year. Thus, estimating total homerange areas must be based on periods spanning 6-12 months from a representative number of individuals (see also Menzel et al 2006). At Bungawalbin, squirrel gliders were highly mobile within home ranges that on average measured 482 Â 178 m. Maximum nightly movements averaged 1,174 m for females and 1,043 m for males.…”

“…Some gliding mammals occupy larger than expected home ranges (Fridell and Litvaitis 1991;Goldingay and Kavanagh 1993;Hanski et al 2000;Jackson 2000;Menzel et al 2006). However, replication of studies to confirm such a result has occurred for few species and home-range size may vary geographically, particularly with variation in habitat quality (e.g., Bendel and Gates 1987;Fridell and Litvaitis 1991;Menzel et al 2006).…”

“…Several studies have found that gliding mammals occupy home-range areas much larger than predicted based on their body mass (Fridell and Litvaitis 1991;Goldingay and Kavanagh 1993;Hanski et al 2000;Jackson 2000;Menzel et al 2006;Witt 1992). The generality of this, or whether it relates to gliding locomotion, is unknown, but if the pattern persists the underlying cause should be of ecological interest.…”

“…The latter may be required in habitat restoration or when mitigating impacts from anthropogenic disturbance. Many gliding species are recognized as threatened throughout part or all of their geographic range (Hackett and Pagels 2003;Hanski et al 2000;Jackson 2000;Kavanagh 2004;Menzel et al 2006;Odum et al 2001;Smith and Nichols 2003;van der Ree et al 2004), necessitating a detailed understanding of their spatial requirements. Furthermore, home-range size may vary geographically and in response to variation in habitat quality, requiring the replication of studies to adequately describe the spatial requirements of widely distributed species.…”