Relative Impacts of Habitat and Geography on Raccoon Diets

Rulison, Eric L.; Luiselli, Luca; Burke, Russell L.

doi:10.1674/0003-0031-168.2.231

Cited by 33 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, we studied lizards in similar habitats, and generalists predators may have similar diets in similar habitats, with simple substitution of ecologically equivalent prey species (Rulison et al, 2012). We clearly falsified prediction (2), given that the geographic distance between distinct sites was relatively unimportant in determining diet similarity between pairs of populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Obviously, local climate {-rainfall regime) and vegetation zone are not mutually independent factors, and should hence be considered together in these case studies. A recent study on raccoons (Rulison et al, 2012) revealed that between habitat similarity and geographic closeness, only habitat similarity significantly and positively influenced probability of observing a greater-thanexpected diet similarity. Indeed, raccoons in similar habitats had similar diets, with substitution of ecologically equivalent prey species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Diets of different populations of a same species, or even of different individuals within a single population, may vary temporally due to changing nutritional needs or availability of seasonal resources (e.g., Rulison et al, 2012). If the diet of a species is based on one or a few food types and is inflexible, even in distant populations, the species is defined a specialist forager (Ricklefs, 1973).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the contrary, in generalist foragers, which generally feed upon the most abundant food resources, the diets would depend largely on local habitat type and local bioclimate (Ricklefs, 1973). Dietary spectrum of these species would considerably vary geographically, especially when the various sites have different habitats (Luiselli, 2006;Rulison et al, 2012). Most lizards are typically insectivorous generalists (e.g., Pianka, 1973Pianka, , 1986Luiselli, 2008;Hawlena and Pérez-Mellado, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Effects of rainfall and geography on the comparative diets of eight rainbow lizard populations across Togo, Benin and Nigeria (West Africa)

Akani

Petrozzi²,

Rugiero³

et al. 2013

Amphib Reptilia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

bstract. The diet composition of rainbow lizards (Agama agama complex) populations was studied by feces analysis at eight distant places across a mega-transect in the Gulf of Guinea (West Africa), covering three countries: Togo, Benin and Nigeria. The effects of geography (= linear distance between study sites) and local conditions (using the mean annual rainfall as a proxy of the site-specific conditions) on dietary similarity of rainbow lizards were tested. Rainbow lizards were mainly insectivorous at all sites. Multivariate analyses identified four main groups of localities in terms of diet diversity indexes, with populations inhabiting forest towns tending to have less prey taxa richness than conspecifics from more arid areas, which instead had higher dietary evenness. Food niche overlap between populations was high among populations (range 0.631-0.940, X = 0.839), and decreased with increases in the difference of mean annual rainfall between sites. There was no effect of the geographic distance on the similarity in diet composition between populations. A UPGMA dendrogram revealed a geographic trend in terms of presence/absence of the various prey types in the diets, with all the Nigerian study sites forming one cluster, whereas Lomé and Cotonou, two cities situated within the Dahomey Gap, being grouped apart. Overall, rainfall of the various sites seems to be more important than geographic distance for determining the taxonomic diet composition similarity of these lizards.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Effects of rainfall and geography on the comparative diets of eight rainbow lizard populations across Togo, Benin and Nigeria (West Africa)

Akani

Petrozzi²,

Rugiero³

et al. 2013

Amphib Reptilia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While white-tailed deer have been shown to masticate ginseng seeds and kill the embryo , other large mammals have been shown to pass whole seeds. For example, raccoons (Procyon lotor) are considered to be generalist omnivores that will eat a majority of food items and are less selective as food availability decreases (Rulison et al 2012). Whole seeds are frequently seen in raccoon scat.…”

Section: Historical Dispersal Of Ginseng and Other Potential Present mentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal dispersal of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.)

Hruska¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) is a long-lived forest herb found throughout Appalachia, well-known for its reputation as a medicinal plant species. Harvest of ginseng for First and foremost, I would like to thank my adviser Dr. James McGraw for this opportunity. Jim is a terrific adviser and was always available and happy to provide support and guidance in order to help me become a better scientist. Working in his lab was a privilege and this research would not have been possible without him. I would also like to thank my committee, Dr. Petra Bohall Wood and Dr. Stephen DiFazio, for their advice and assistance during this process. I am also very grateful for my fellow lab members, and good friends, Jennifer L. Chandler and Jessica B. Turner. Both Jen and Jessi Brie were always there for support, whether I needed help in the field, reviewers, or an audience to rehearse a presentation. I would also like to thank former lab member, Dr. Sara Souther, who began using wildlife cameras in the field to investigate ginseng disperser mechanisms and assisted with edits. Additionally, this work would not have been possible without the assistance of our undergraduate interns, Alixandra Wagner, Michael Elza, and Chris Mallow, who were invaluable during my fall field seasons. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family. The support that I have received from members of the WVU Biology Department (fellow graduate students, faculty, and staff alike) has really truly made this a wonderful experience. Also, I am grateful to all of my friends who have always been a phone call away to lend a supportive ear. Furthermore, I would not have made it this far without the love and support of my parents, David and Karen, and my siblings, Ryan and Kailey. My family has always believed in me and given me the courage to never settle for anything less than my best. I promise to always reach, if not raise, the standards that they"ve seen me set for myself and hope that I always make them proud.

show abstract

Predator movements in relation to habitat features reveal vulnerability of duck nests to predation

Peterson

Ackerman

Keating

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nest predation is the main cause of nest failure for ducks. Understanding how habitat features influence predator movements may facilitate management of upland and wetland breeding habitats that reduces predator encounter rates with duck nests and increases nest survival rates. For 1618 duck nests, nest survival increased with distance to phragmites (Phragmites australis), shrubs, telephone poles, human structures, and canals, but not for four other habitat features. Using GPS collars, we tracked 25 raccoons (Procyon lotor) and 16 striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) over 4 years during waterfowl breeding and found marked differences in how these predators were located relative to specific habitat features; moreover, the probability of duck nests being encountered by predators differed by species. Specifically, proximity to canals, wetlands, trees, levees/roads, human structures, shrubs, and telephone poles increased the likelihood of a nest being encountered by collared raccoons. For collared skunks, nests were more likely to be encountered if they were closer to canals, trees, and shrubs, and farther from wetlands and human structures. Most predator encounters with duck nests were attributable to a few individuals; 29.2% of raccoons and 38.5% of skunks were responsible for 95.6% of total nest encounters. During the central span of duck nesting (April 17–June 14: 58 nights), these seven raccoons and five skunks encountered >1 nest on 50.8 ± 29.2% (mean ± SD) and 41.5 ± 28.3% of nights, respectively, and of those nights individual raccoons and skunks averaged 2.60 ± 1.28 and 2.50 ± 1.09 nest encounters/night, respectively. For collared predators that encountered >1 nest, a higher proportion of nests encountered by skunks had evidence of predation (51.9 ± 26.6%) compared to nests encountered by raccoons (22.3 ± 17.1%). Because duck eggs were most likely consumed as raccoons and skunks opportunistically discovered nests, managing the habitat features those predators most strongly associated with could potentially reduce rates of egg predation.

show abstract

Relative Impacts of Habitat and Geography on Raccoon Diets

Cited by 33 publications

References 40 publications

Effects of rainfall and geography on the comparative diets of eight rainbow lizard populations across Togo, Benin and Nigeria (West Africa)

Effects of rainfall and geography on the comparative diets of eight rainbow lizard populations across Togo, Benin and Nigeria (West Africa)

Animal dispersal of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.)

Predator movements in relation to habitat features reveal vulnerability of duck nests to predation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About