Spatial organization in female golden-mantled ground squirrels

Brett R. Jesmer, Dirk H. Van Vuren, James A. Wilson, Douglas A. Kelt, Michael L. Johnson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

The golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis) is considered an asocial species, characterized by agonistic interactions, nonsharing of territories and early dispersal. The species is poorly studied, so we used radiotelemetry to determine home range size, home range overlap and dispersal. Home ranges of 12 adult females averaged 3.75 ha (range 1.14-13.52) using the 95 fixed kernel method. Home ranges overlapped substantially but core areas did not, indicating territoriality may be expressed over only a portion of the home range, and an index of dynamic interaction was neutral, indicating neither attraction nor avoidance between females. Most (80) of 20 juveniles dispersed during their first summer, but some delayed dispersal until at least their yearling summer. Our results provide support for the classification of golden-mantled ground squirrels as asocial but suggest that the expression of territoriality and early dispersal may be variable.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)162-168
Number of pages7
JournalAmerican Midland Naturalist
Volume165
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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