How to translate text using browser tools
25 October 2017 Fox squirrel response to forest restoration treatments in longleaf pine
Wesley W. Boone, Robert A. McCleery, Brian E. Reichert
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Restoration of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris; LLP) ecosystem and its associated fauna is a principal goal of many land-management agencies in the southeastern United States. Prescribed fire and herbicide application are 2 common methods of LLP restoration. We employed a multi-scale approach to investigate how occurrence of fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) was influenced by fire frequency and herbicide application in LLP communities of northern Florida. We sampled 9-point, 4-ha grids of camera traps with 106 grids in fire treatments, 23 herbicide treatment grids, and 27 control grids. We evaluated a priori models for occurrence of fox squirrels at point, 4-ha patch, and home-range scales, and the influence of fire and herbicides on vegetation structure. Fox squirrel occurrence was positively associated with densities of turkey oak (Quercus laevis) at the patch scale, which were significantly less abundant in herbicide-treated areas. Fox squirrel occurrence was negatively correlated with fire interval and positively correlated with oak densities at a localized point scale. Additionally, fox squirrel point occurrences declined over time since the last fire. Fire produced habitat more favorable for fox squirrels than did herbicide treatments.

© 2017 American Society of Mammalogists, www.mammalogy.org
Wesley W. Boone, Robert A. McCleery, and Brian E. Reichert "Fox squirrel response to forest restoration treatments in longleaf pine," Journal of Mammalogy 98(6), 1594-1603, (25 October 2017). https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyx110
Received: 2 January 2017; Accepted: 14 August 2017; Published: 25 October 2017
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top