Seasonal Changes in Home Ranges of the Giant Kangaroo Rat (<i>Dipodomys ingens</i>): a Study of Flexible Social Structure

Cooper, Loni D.; Randall, Jan A.

doi:10.1644/06-mamm-a-197r1.1

Cited by 47 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…This result contrasts with the distribution of burrows in species that seem to minimize intraspecific interactions by spatial means, as D. spectabilis (Schroder and Geluso 1975;Schroder 1979;Schooley and Wiens 2001) and D. ingens (Cooper and Randall, 2007). The distribution pattern of burrows observed in our study resemble the distribution of burrows observed for mainland populations of D. merriami, which exhibit frequently overlapping female and male home ranges (Jones, 1989;O'Farrell, 1980;Behrends et al, 1986;Randall, 1993;Perri and Randall, 1999).…”

Section: Patterns Of Burrow Use By the Kangaroo Rat At San Jose Islandcontrasting

confidence: 95%

“…The maximum number of burrows per individual reported here is slightly lower than the highest number recorded (up to 8 burrows) for this species (Behrends et al, 1986;Jones, 1989). Other species, such as D. spectabilis (Jones, 1984;Winters and Waser, 2003) and D. ingens (Cooper and Randall, 2007), use 1-3 burrows per individual, similar to our results. Subadult individuals occupied slightly fewer burrows per individual than juveniles and adults (Fig.…”

Section: Patterns Of Burrow Use By the Kangaroo Rat At San Jose Islandsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…We found that the mean distance between burrows of nearest neighbors was similar to the one in mainland populations of D. merriami (Behrends et al 1986) but slightly larger than those found in the medium-sized species D. heermanni arenae (Shier and Randall 2004) and the large-sized D. nelsoni, D. spectabilis zygomaticus, D. s. cratodon (Best et al 1988), and D. ingens (Cooper and Randall 2007). Our results suggest that nearest-neighbor distances are apparently not related to mean body size in Dipodomys.…”

Section: Spatial Relationships Between Burrowssupporting

confidence: 68%

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Spatial relationships between burrows of an insular population of Dipodomys merriami

Vázquez¹,

Álvarez-Castañeda²

2011

Mammalian Biology

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a b s t r a c tFor semi-fossorial rodents, descriptions of the distribution and use of burrows can advance in understanding the spatial and social organization of their population. This study describes the use and spatial relationships between burrows of the kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami insularis), a subspecies that is possibly on the verge of extinction. Individuals were captured and recaptured in an area of 79.8 hectares located at San José Island, Gulf of California, Mexico, during both the breeding (BRED, from March to May) and the non-breeding (NON-BRED, from October to November) seasons of 2008. Our results show that females and males use a median of 1-2 burrows; factors such as age class, season and frequency of captures account for the number of burrows used by individuals. Few individuals shared their burrows (9.2% during BRED and 1.1% during NON-BRED). The burrows showed a clumped spatial distribution in both sampling periods. The spatial relationship between burrows is characterized by the fact that animals of opposite sex are closer to each other than same-sex individuals, and this spatial relationship between nearest-neighbor burrows is influenced by age class. Our results show that D. m. insularis displays burrow use and spatial organization patterns similar to those observed in other populations of D. merriami.

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Section: Patterns Of Burrow Use By the Kangaroo Rat At San Jose Islandcontrasting

confidence: 95%

Section: Patterns Of Burrow Use By the Kangaroo Rat At San Jose Islandsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Spatial Relationships Between Burrowssupporting

confidence: 68%

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Spatial relationships between burrows of an insular population of Dipodomys merriami

Vázquez¹,

Álvarez-Castañeda²

2011

Mammalian Biology

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“…Intraspecific variation in the range areas (home ranges) of individuals can be caused by numerous extrinsic (e.g., food abundance and quality) and endogenous (e.g., changes in the breeding activity and sex of individuals) factors (Burt 1943; Cooper and Randall 2007; Schradin and Pillay 2006; Slobodchikoff 1984). Separating the roles played by each of these factors is challenging.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variation in the range areas of the diurnal rodentOctodon degus

Quirici

Castro

Ortiz-Tolhuysen

et al. 2010

Journal of Mammalogy

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Both breeding activity and abundance and quality of available food are expected to influence daily movements of animals. Animals are predicted to range over large areas to meet high energy demands associated with reproduction (females) or to increase mating success (males). However, animals should expand their range areas whenever food conditions deteriorate. To examine the extent to which breeding activity versus food availability influence space use, we compared the size and location of range areas (home ranges) of the degu (Octodon degus), a diurnal rodent from semiarid environments of north-central Chile, during the austral winter and summer seasons. Degus produce young during the austral spring (September–October) when high-quality food is readily available. In contrast, degus do not breed during the austral summer (January–March) when food is scarce and of low quality. We predicted that degus would range over smaller areas in winter if the availability of food has a greater influence on space than breeding activity. Individuals were radiotracked in winter and the following summer over a 3-year period. Surveys of herbaceous cover were conducted during winter and summer to determine seasonal changes in the abundance and quality of primary food. In summer degus expanded and moved the location of their range areas to locations with available food. Given that preferred food was less abundant in summer than winter, we suggest that degu range areas are strongly influenced by food conditions.

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“…In particular, the social behavior of O. mimax may exhibit changes with varying density conditions, as described in other rodents (Cooper and Randall, 2007;Pilastro et al, 1996;Randall et al, 2005;Wolff, 1994). Populations of desert rodents in particular are well known for drastic changes in density in response to interannual fluctuations in precipitation and food availability (Jime´nez et al, 1992;Meserve et al, 1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%