American Red Squirrel

The American red squirrel is rust-red to greyish-red above being brightest on the sides, white or greyish-white below and the tail is similar to the back color but is outlined with a broad, black band edged in white. The coat is duller in the summer and a black line separated the back and underbelly colours. The average red squirrel weighs 7-12 ounces. The red squirrel is abundant in any kind of forest, coniferous, pine, mixed or hardwood forests, often around buildings. They occur through much of Canada and most of B.C. This creature feeds heavily on pine seeds and in the fall it cuts green cones and buries them in damp earth; other sustenance includes nuts, seeds, birds' eggs, young birds and fungi. It makes a nest of leaves in a hollow or fallen tree, hole in the ground or tree crotch. 3-7 young are born in March or April and there is sometimes a second litter in August or September. The squirrel is a chatterbox with a variety of calls to announce its home range or the presence of intruders.

The American red squirrel is a crucial species for the grizzly bear in that it drops the Whitebark Pine cones, a major food source for grizzly bears, off the tree and piles them into middens where the bears can access them. In the fall the cones are reported to have 55% protein content which contributes significantly to the fat condition of grizzly bears when they enter their dens in the fall. Having enough fat stores in the fall means more eggs are held to produce a larger litter of cubs. Without the red squirrel, bears would have to forage for high protein foods elsewhere.

Introduction

It is important to understand how dispersers are affected by habitat heterogeneity because natal dispersal affects both fitness and population persistence. This study compared the ecology of red squirrels from a mature forest and a thinned forest. Four habitats were compared. Mature forest appeared to represent the highest quality habitat. The North American Red Squirrels are really manageable for studies of both demography and natal dispersal because both gender preserve leaving their territory.

Materials and Methods

The research site was located around 30km southwest of Kamloops in B.C, Canada. This site contained abrupt transition between mature forest and thinned forest. The thinned forest was marked by smaller and more variable trees. There were more important features for squirrels in the mature forest. A captured squirrel was marked with a numbered metal ear tag. 

Results

They successfully monitoring individual squirrels. They captured a total of 218 squirrels during the study. 64% of the trapped animals were female squirrels. Reproductive success differed significantly between habitats with females from a mature forest experiencing the highest observed success, while the lowest success rate was observed in the females from the thinned forest. Females living in a thinned forest gave birth about two weeks later than the females in the mature forest. The survival rate in a mature forest was higher than in a thinned habitat. The body shape between the two different habitats is different as an analysis showed. Also, males are heavier than the males from the thinned forest. It was observed that juvenile settled in the type of habitat in which they were born.

Discussion

During their study, mature-forest squirrels maintain a smaller territory than those living in a thinned forest. They documented that squirrels living in mature forest have more advantages and their density increased each spring.Their reproduction is high enough to replace the lost ones. During the same period the density of squirrels in thin forests decreased steadily. The territory of a thinned-forest squirrel is larger, supporting the argument that thinned forests represent less favorable habitat.

Source: North American Red Squirrels

Goals:

• Monitor populations and ensure they remain at carrying capacity