Living on the edge : can eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) persist in extreme high-elevation habitats?
Studying intraspecific spatiotemporal variation in vital rates among populations over a range of environmental conditions is essential to reveal intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting population dynamics. Mammal populations living at higher elevations often have higher adult survival, shorter bre...
Published in: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
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Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado
2010
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2434/509474 https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-42.1.106 |
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ftunivmilanoair:oai:air.unimi.it:2434/509474 2024-02-04T09:56:08+01:00 Living on the edge : can eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) persist in extreme high-elevation habitats? D. Rodrigues L. A. Wauters V. Mari D. Preatoni M. L. Mathias G. Tosi A. Martinoli C. Romeo D. Rodrigue L.A. Wauter C. Romeo V. Mari D. Preatoni M.L. Mathia G. Tosi A. Martinoli 2010 http://hdl.handle.net/2434/509474 https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-42.1.106 eng eng Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000275560500011 volume:42 issue:1 firstpage:106 lastpage:112 numberofpages:7 journal:ARCTIC ANTARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH http://hdl.handle.net/2434/509474 doi:10.1657/1938-4246-42.1.106 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-77649154280 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Global and Planetary Change Earth-Surface Processes Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2010 ftunivmilanoair https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-42.1.106 2024-01-09T23:36:51Z Studying intraspecific spatiotemporal variation in vital rates among populations over a range of environmental conditions is essential to reveal intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting population dynamics. Mammal populations living at higher elevations often have higher adult survival, shorter breeding seasons, and lower reproductive output per season than at lower elevations. We studied dynamics of a Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) population in high-elevation, mountain pine (Pinus mugo) forest with extreme winters, in the Central Italian Alps, and compared vital rates with populations in more productive habitats at lower elevations. Average density was 0.14 ± 0.07 squirrels ha-1 (range 0.070.30 ha-1), and numbers typically increased in summerautumn as a result of seasonal reproduction and immigration. Mean persistence time was only 12.5 months, and there was a nearly complete population turnover in only two years. Local survival and recruitment rate were correlated with seasonal population growth rate, and partial effect of survival explained 80 of variation in growth rate. While reproductive rate in mountain pine habitat was more similar than in more productive habitats at lower elevations, density and autumnwinter survival were much lower. Thus, red squirrels did not show the adaptations observed in several other mammal species, but might invest heavily in early reproduction to compensate for short life expectancy. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research The University of Milan: Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (AIR) Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 42 1 106 112 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
The University of Milan: Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (AIR) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivmilanoair |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Global and Planetary Change Earth-Surface Processes Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia |
spellingShingle |
Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Global and Planetary Change Earth-Surface Processes Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia D. Rodrigues L. A. Wauters V. Mari D. Preatoni M. L. Mathias G. Tosi A. Martinoli C. Romeo Living on the edge : can eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) persist in extreme high-elevation habitats? |
topic_facet |
Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Global and Planetary Change Earth-Surface Processes Settore BIO/07 - Ecologia |
description |
Studying intraspecific spatiotemporal variation in vital rates among populations over a range of environmental conditions is essential to reveal intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting population dynamics. Mammal populations living at higher elevations often have higher adult survival, shorter breeding seasons, and lower reproductive output per season than at lower elevations. We studied dynamics of a Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) population in high-elevation, mountain pine (Pinus mugo) forest with extreme winters, in the Central Italian Alps, and compared vital rates with populations in more productive habitats at lower elevations. Average density was 0.14 ± 0.07 squirrels ha-1 (range 0.070.30 ha-1), and numbers typically increased in summerautumn as a result of seasonal reproduction and immigration. Mean persistence time was only 12.5 months, and there was a nearly complete population turnover in only two years. Local survival and recruitment rate were correlated with seasonal population growth rate, and partial effect of survival explained 80 of variation in growth rate. While reproductive rate in mountain pine habitat was more similar than in more productive habitats at lower elevations, density and autumnwinter survival were much lower. Thus, red squirrels did not show the adaptations observed in several other mammal species, but might invest heavily in early reproduction to compensate for short life expectancy. |
author2 |
D. Rodrigue L.A. Wauter C. Romeo V. Mari D. Preatoni M.L. Mathia G. Tosi A. Martinoli |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
D. Rodrigues L. A. Wauters V. Mari D. Preatoni M. L. Mathias G. Tosi A. Martinoli C. Romeo |
author_facet |
D. Rodrigues L. A. Wauters V. Mari D. Preatoni M. L. Mathias G. Tosi A. Martinoli C. Romeo |
author_sort |
D. Rodrigues |
title |
Living on the edge : can eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) persist in extreme high-elevation habitats? |
title_short |
Living on the edge : can eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) persist in extreme high-elevation habitats? |
title_full |
Living on the edge : can eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) persist in extreme high-elevation habitats? |
title_fullStr |
Living on the edge : can eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) persist in extreme high-elevation habitats? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Living on the edge : can eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) persist in extreme high-elevation habitats? |
title_sort |
living on the edge : can eurasian red squirrels (sciurus vulgaris) persist in extreme high-elevation habitats? |
publisher |
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2434/509474 https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-42.1.106 |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000275560500011 volume:42 issue:1 firstpage:106 lastpage:112 numberofpages:7 journal:ARCTIC ANTARCTIC AND ALPINE RESEARCH http://hdl.handle.net/2434/509474 doi:10.1657/1938-4246-42.1.106 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-77649154280 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-42.1.106 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
106 |
op_container_end_page |
112 |
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