COS 54-3
Movement patterns of Franklin’s ground squirrel in an agriculture-dominated landscape: Potential ecological traps
As the only species in the genus Poliocitellus, Franklin’s ground squirrel (Poliocitellus franklinii) is declining in much of the central United States and is considered endangered, threatened, or a species of concern in many Midwestern states. Declines in Franklin’s ground squirrel populations in the Midwest have been widely attributed to loss and fragmentation of tallgrass prairie or savanna habitat due to intensive agricultural practices. Nowadays in the southern portions of its range where the greatest genetic variability for the species was located, Franklin’s ground squirrels are frequently found along roadside or railroad right-of-ways when these areas are no longer in use. To study its population dynamics and movement patters in the agriculture-dominated landscape, Franklin’s ground squirrel has been surveyed along a 38-mile stretch of an abandoned railroad corridor in central Illinois since 2011. Individuals of ground squirrels were live-trapped and tagged with passive integrated transponders (PIT) since 2012. Juveniles have been collared for radio telemetry since 2013.
Results/Conclusions
Together the results from PIT-tagging and radio telemetry show that Franklin’s ground squirrels, particularly males, were capable of moving or dispersing for a distance (e.g., 10 km) longer than those reported in the published literature. However, not all juvenile males dispersed along the linear right-of-way habitat. All collared juvenile males in 2013 dispersed from their natal sites along the corridor and traveled through the adjoining agricultural fields. None of them survived the dispersal events. It appears that agricultural fields, in particular soybean fields, are ecological traps for dispersing Franklin’s ground squirrels.