The impact of predation on burrow use by arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest
In sedentary animals, the choice of a suitable home site is critical to survival and reproductive fitness. However, habitat suitability may vary with predation risk. We compared habitat use of Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii plesius) living in the boreal forest under conditions of fluc...
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ftunivtoronto:oai:localhost:1807/470 2023-05-15T14:49:22+02:00 The impact of predation on burrow use by arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest Karels, Tim Boonstra, Rudy 1999 142150 bytes application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1807/470 en_CA eng The Royal Society Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B (1999) 266. 2117-2123 http://hdl.handle.net/1807/470 Arctic ground squirrels burrow boreal forest predation habitat use discriminant function analysis Article 1999 ftunivtoronto 2020-06-17T11:06:21Z In sedentary animals, the choice of a suitable home site is critical to survival and reproductive fitness. However, habitat suitability may vary with predation risk. We compared habitat use of Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii plesius) living in the boreal forest under conditions of fluctuating predation pressure. In our study area, predators show ten-year cycles in numbers that track that of their primary prey, the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus). In 1993, we compared burrows that continued to be occupied following the period of intense predation during the hare decline of 1990 to 1992 with those that became vacant, and with random locations. We contrasted these sites to those in a predator exclosure where predation pressure was minimized. Burrows on control sites were located on sloped sites with high visibility. Burrows that remained occupied during the period of intense predation were more likely to be in open areas with fewer fallen trees than burrows that became vacant. We used discriminant functions derived from the control sites and found that 89% of the burrows on the predator exclosure were classified as being similar to the random locations on control sites. We conclude that the distribution of Arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest is a direct function of predator presence. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic University of Toronto: Research Repository T-Space Arctic Burrows ENVELOPE(163.650,163.650,-74.300,-74.300) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Toronto: Research Repository T-Space |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtoronto |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic ground squirrels burrow boreal forest predation habitat use discriminant function analysis |
spellingShingle |
Arctic ground squirrels burrow boreal forest predation habitat use discriminant function analysis Karels, Tim Boonstra, Rudy The impact of predation on burrow use by arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest |
topic_facet |
Arctic ground squirrels burrow boreal forest predation habitat use discriminant function analysis |
description |
In sedentary animals, the choice of a suitable home site is critical to survival and reproductive fitness. However, habitat suitability may vary with predation risk. We compared habitat use of Arctic ground squirrels (Spermophilus parryii plesius) living in the boreal forest under conditions of fluctuating predation pressure. In our study area, predators show ten-year cycles in numbers that track that of their primary prey, the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus). In 1993, we compared burrows that continued to be occupied following the period of intense predation during the hare decline of 1990 to 1992 with those that became vacant, and with random locations. We contrasted these sites to those in a predator exclosure where predation pressure was minimized. Burrows on control sites were located on sloped sites with high visibility. Burrows that remained occupied during the period of intense predation were more likely to be in open areas with fewer fallen trees than burrows that became vacant. We used discriminant functions derived from the control sites and found that 89% of the burrows on the predator exclosure were classified as being similar to the random locations on control sites. We conclude that the distribution of Arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest is a direct function of predator presence. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Karels, Tim Boonstra, Rudy |
author_facet |
Karels, Tim Boonstra, Rudy |
author_sort |
Karels, Tim |
title |
The impact of predation on burrow use by arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest |
title_short |
The impact of predation on burrow use by arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest |
title_full |
The impact of predation on burrow use by arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest |
title_fullStr |
The impact of predation on burrow use by arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest |
title_full_unstemmed |
The impact of predation on burrow use by arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest |
title_sort |
impact of predation on burrow use by arctic ground squirrels in the boreal forest |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1807/470 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.650,163.650,-74.300,-74.300) |
geographic |
Arctic Burrows |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Burrows |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_relation |
Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B (1999) 266. 2117-2123 http://hdl.handle.net/1807/470 |
_version_ |
1766320420723621888 |