Site occupancy and cavity use by the northern flying squirrel in the boreal forest

Trudeau, Caroline; Imbeau, Louis; Drapeau, Pierre; Mazerolle, Marc J.

doi:10.1002/jwmg.224

Cited by 18 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…However, as expected based on a recent study (Trudeau et al 2011), we observed a positive effect of temperature on detection probability. The latter result is consistent with the observations of McComb and Noble (1981) on temperature being on average 6.5 • C colder inside nest boxes than inside cavities in a bottomland hardwood stand in Louisiana.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…All data were acquired from the closest meteorological station, which was located in the city of Val-d'Or (48 • 03 N, 77 • 47 W), and downloaded from the Environment Canada website (Environment Canada, 2009). Because cavity use decreases at low temperatures (Trudeau et al 2011), we expected a similar effect on nest box use, yielding a positive effect of temperature on probability of detection at our study sites. Because leaf nests are apparently constructed only in conifers in our study area (Trudeau et al 2011), we also expected that probability of detection of flying squirrels using nest boxes would be higher in sites where the availability of conifers is low.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…It is generally recognized that cavities represent better winter nest choices than do external nests (Wells-Gosling and Heaney, 1984), as the former offers better protection from precipitation, wind, and cold temperatures. However, a study recently showed that external nests and even ground nests are more likely to be used than cavities on days following cold nights in our study area (Trudeau et al 2011). Flying squirrels are also known to aggregate in nests (Mowrey and Zasada, 1984;Gerrow, 1996), and thus, large cavities are necessary for cohabitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

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Winter site occupancy patterns of the northern flying squirrel in boreal mixed-wood forests

Trudeau¹,

Imbeau²,

Drapeau³

et al. 2012

Mammalian Biology

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a b s t r a c tWe assessed habitat use by the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) to test the hypothesis that the species is not a late-seral coniferous forest specialist in boreal mixedwood forests of northwestern Québec. We monitored 149 pairs of nest boxes over 3 visits during February-April 2008. A total of 31 pairs of nest boxes were occupied during the study. The average (3.7, 2.8, and 1.8) and maximum (8, 6, and 4) numbers of individuals in nest boxes decreased from the first to last visit. Average air temperatures were below freezing and increased with the arrival of spring (−23.9, −14.5, and −3.7 • C). Using GIS software, we created a 430-m (median dispersal distance) buffer around each pair of nest boxes and extracted landscape composition variables from digital forest inventory maps. We created models that potentially explained site occupancy by the northern flying squirrel as well as detection probability. Model selection indicated that the area of coniferous forests negatively affected site occupancy by flying squirrels while temperature positively influenced detection probability. Our results support the hypothesis that the northern flying squirrel is not a habitat specialist, but can occupy a wider range of forest cover types than previously recognized in various landscape contexts.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

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Winter site occupancy patterns of the northern flying squirrel in boreal mixed-wood forests

Trudeau¹,

Imbeau²,

Drapeau³

et al. 2012

Mammalian Biology

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“…Deciduous tree snags, and particularly those of poplars, are preferred by the pileated woodpecker, a keystone species that creates large cavities, which can further be used by other tree nesting species such as flying squirrels [86,87].…”

Section: Young Forests Community Types Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple-Use Zoning Model for Private Forest Owners in Agricultural Landscapes: A Case Study

Truax

Gagnon²,

Fortier³

2015

Forests

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Many small-scale private forest owners increasingly focus their management on amenity functions rather than on wood production functions. This paradigm shift is an opportunity to implement novel forestry management approaches, such as forested land zoning. Forest zoning consists in separating the land base in three zones that have different management objectives: (1) conservation zones; (2) ecosystem management zones; and (3) intensive production zones, which locally increase productivity, as a trade off to increase the land area dedicated to conservation and ecosystem management. We evaluate the ecological feasibility of implementing forest zoning on a private property (216 ha) at St-Benoî t-du-Lac, Qué bec (Canada) characterised by agricultural and forest land uses. As a basis for delineating conservation and ecosystem management zones, historical and contemporary data and facts on forest composition and dynamics were reviewed, followed by a detailed forest vegetation analysis of forest communities. Delineating intensive production zones was straightforward, as fertile agricultural field margins located downslope were used to establish multifunctional hybrid poplar buffers. At St-Benoî t-du-Lac, a realistic zoning scenario would consist of (1) conservation zones covering 25% of the forestland (37 ha); (2) ecosystem management zones covering 75% of the forestland (113 ha, including restoration zones on 24 ha); and (3) intensive production zones on 2.8 ha. Based on a yield projection of 13 t/ha/year for hybrid OPEN ACCESSForests 2015, 6 3615 poplars, only 5.6% of agricultural field areas would need to be converted into agroforestry systems to allow for the loss of wood production in a conservation zone of 37 ha of forest. Ecosystem services provision following the implementation of zoning would include increased habitat quality, biodiversity protection and enhancement (by restoration of some tree species), carbon storage, non-point source aquatic pollution control, local biomass production for heating, and increased forest economic value.

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“…) and occupancy models (Trudeau et al. ) accounting for imperfect detectability suggest that highest northern flying squirrel population densities are not always linked to older stands, especially in mixed‐wood forests.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using dynamic N‐mixture models to test cavity limitation on northern flying squirrel demographic parameters using experimental nest box supplementation

Priol

Mazerolle

Imbeau

et al. 2014

Ecology and Evolution

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Dynamic N-mixture models have been recently developed to estimate demographic parameters of unmarked individuals while accounting for imperfect detection. We propose an application of the Dail and Madsen (2011: Biometrics, 67, 577–587) dynamic N-mixture model in a manipulative experiment using a before-after control-impact design (BACI). Specifically, we tested the hypothesis of cavity limitation of a cavity specialist species, the northern flying squirrel, using nest box supplementation on half of 56 trapping sites. Our main purpose was to evaluate the impact of an increase in cavity availability on flying squirrel population dynamics in deciduous stands in northwestern Québec with the dynamic N-mixture model. We compared abundance estimates from this recent approach with those from classic capture–mark–recapture models and generalized linear models. We compared apparent survival estimates with those from Cormack–Jolly–Seber (CJS) models. Average recruitment rate was 6 individuals per site after 4 years. Nevertheless, we found no effect of cavity supplementation on apparent survival and recruitment rates of flying squirrels. Contrary to our expectations, initial abundance was not affected by conifer basal area (food availability) and was negatively affected by snag basal area (cavity availability). Northern flying squirrel population dynamics are not influenced by cavity availability at our deciduous sites. Consequently, we suggest that this species should not be considered an indicator of old forest attributes in our study area, especially in view of apparent wide population fluctuations across years. Abundance estimates from N-mixture models were similar to those from capture–mark–recapture models, although the latter had greater precision. Generalized linear mixed models produced lower abundance estimates, but revealed the same relationship between abundance and snag basal area. Apparent survival estimates from N-mixture models were higher and less precise than those from CJS models. However, N-mixture models can be particularly useful to evaluate management effects on animal populations, especially for species that are difficult to detect in situations where individuals cannot be uniquely identified. They also allow investigating the effects of covariates at the site level, when low recapture rates would require restricting classic CMR analyses to a subset of sites with the most captures.

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Site occupancy and cavity use by the northern flying squirrel in the boreal forest

Cited by 18 publications

References 62 publications

Winter site occupancy patterns of the northern flying squirrel in boreal mixed-wood forests

Winter site occupancy patterns of the northern flying squirrel in boreal mixed-wood forests

Multiple-Use Zoning Model for Private Forest Owners in Agricultural Landscapes: A Case Study

Using dynamic N‐mixture models to test cavity limitation on northern flying squirrel demographic parameters using experimental nest box supplementation

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