Browsing by Subject "Mammals -- Texas"
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Item Home range, movements, and denning sites of raccoons on the High Plains of Texas(Texas Tech University, 1981-12) Juen, Jesse JRaccoons occur throughout the state of Texas. With the recent dispersal of raccoons in Castro County and increased interest in conservation of wetlands, there is a need for data on the importance of playa basins to raccoons as well as other wildlife in the area. This study was designed to evaluate the importance of playa basins to raccoons and document the significance of these basins with respect to; (1) home range and movements of raccoons and, (2) the den-site selection of raccoons. The study area selected was Castro County, Texas, and portions of Lamb and Hale Counties, Texas. Raccoon home ranges varied from 795-3,845 ha. Adult males had the largest home range areas and juvenile females had the smallest. Adults and males moved significantly greater (P<0.10) distances than juveniles and females. However, there was no significant interaction (P>0.10) between sex and age classes, indicating these characteristics acted independently of each other. Sixty eight percent of the den sites were located on playa basins, 19% in croplands, 3% in pastures, and 10% in man-made structures All den sites located in vegetation were surrounded by cover 1.0 m or taller. Playa basins were used significantly more (P<0.10) in proportion to their availability while croplands were used significantly less (P<0.10) in proportion to their availability. Pastures were used in proportion to their availability. Playa basins were very important to raccoon use throughout the year, providing food, water, and cover; however, croplands, especially com fields were seasonally important to raccoon use.Item Parasitism and Food Habits of the Bobcat in West Texas(Texas Tech University, 1977-05) Stone, Jeanne ENot Available.Item Parasitism in wild canids from the Gulf coastal prairies of Texas and Louisiana(Texas Tech University, 1979-08) Custer, Jay WallaceNot availableItem Spatial organization and genetic structure of striped skunk populations on the southern High Plains, Texas(Texas Tech University, 1997-05) Hansen, Leslie AnnI examined the population characteristics, genetic stmcture, and male spatial organization of striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) on the Southem High Plains, Texas, during 1994 and 1995. Land use on the study area was primarily agricultural, with crops including grain sorghum, cotton, winter wheat, and com. Striped skunks were trapped and radiotracked during March - July (1994) or August (1995) on 4 12.8 km" plots. Distances between plot centers ranged from 17.6 to 61.6 km. Annual survival rates of adult striped skunks were 0.40 in 1994 and 0.48 in 1995. The primary identified causes of mortality were human-caused trauma (shooting and vehicle collisions). Twenty-two percent of male striped skunks moved > 3 km from their initial capture site. The average home range size of male striped skunks on each plot, calculated using 95% contours of the adaptive kernel method, ranged from 498 to 1668 ha. I correlated male home range sizes calculated using the minimum convex polygon method and the 95%, 80%, and 50% contours of the adaptive kernel methods with male population size, female population size, total population size, and sex ratio. The 50% adaptive kernel contour was not significantly correlated with any of these measures. The other measures of home range size were most significantly correlated with total population size. Use areas of male striped skunks overlapped up to 56%, and overlap areas did not decrease as population size decreased. High levels of genetic similarity were not correlated with extensive home range overlap. The tolerance of male striped skunks for other males may partly stem from the fact that skunks may share a readily renewable food resource with conspecifics at little cost to themselves. There was no evidence of geographic genetic stmcturing in male striped skunks at the scale of this study.