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Annual Cycle, Population Dynamics and Adaptive Behavior of Citellus Tridecemlineatus

Annual Cycle, Population Dynamics and Adaptive Behavior of Citellus Tridecemlineatus Abstract A marked population of Citellus tridecemlineatus, averaging 131 individuals per year, was studied for 3 years on a 113-acre tract in northern Texas. Emergence from hibernation was from 12 March to 5 April. Adults began hibernating in July and juveniles in August and September. Adults averaged 135 days of dormancy and 238 days of aboveground activity. Mating occurred aboveground in April, May and June. Litters were born in May, June and July. Some females older than one year produced two litters per reproductive season. Size of litters emerging from the nest burrow ranged from an average of 4.9 for young females to 7.0 for old females. The sex ratio of juveniles was 1:1. The resident adult population varied from 24 individuals in 1965 to 34 individuals in 1964 with a sex ratio of 1 male: 2.8 females. Mature females tended to survive longer than mature males. Home ranges averaged 11.7 acres for males and 3.5 acres for females. Population size was mostly regulated by dispersal of the juvenile part of the population in late summer and early fall. Additional adjustment of population size and sex ratio through dispersal and mortality occurred in the spring. Colonies of thirteen-lined ground squirrels in northern Texas probably result from attraction to a particular habitat rather than attraction of one squirrel to another. Because the species does tend to occur in colonies, both social and individual behavior have evolved. The adaptive significance of vocal signals, defense and care of young, burrow construction and escape behavior are discussed. Literature Cited Asdell S. A. 1964 . Patterns of mammalian reproduction . Cornell Univ. Press , Ithaca , 2nd Ed. Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Blair W. F. 1940 . Home ranges and populations of the meadow vole in southern Michigan . J. Wildl. Manage ., 4 : 149 – 161 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Evans F. C. 1951 . Notes on a population of the striped ground squirrel (Citellus tridecemlineatus) in an abandoned field in southeastern Michigan . J. Mamm. , 32 : 437 – 449 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Hayne D. W. 1949 . Calculation of size of home range . J. Mamm. , 30 : 1 – 18 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Howell A. H. 19G8. Revision of the North American ground squirrels, with a classification of the North American Sciuridae . N. Amer. Fauna , 56 : 1 – 256 . Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Johnson G. E. 1931 . Early life of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel . Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci. , 34 : 282 – 290 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Kayser C. 1965 . Hibernation (in Physiological Mammalogy) . Academic press , New York , II : 179 – 296 . King J. A. 1955 . Social behavior, social organization and population dynamics in a black-tailed prairiedog town in the Black Hills of South Dakota . Contr. Lab. Vert. Biol., Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor , No, 67 : 1 – 123 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Larson Rachel Simms M. E. . 1965 . Double mating; its use to study heritable factors in dental caries . Science , 149 : 982 – 983 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS PubMed WorldCat Pengelley E. T. Fisher K. C. . 1961 . Rhythmical arousal from hibernation in the golden-mantled ground squirrel, Citellus lateralis tescorum . Can. J. Zool. , 39 : 105 – 120 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Pengelley E. T. 1963 , The effect of temperature and photoperiod on the yearly hibernating behavior of captive golden-mantled ground squirrels (Citellus lateralis tescorum) . Can. J. Zool. , 41 : 1103 – 1120 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Rongstad O. J. 1965 . A life history study of thirteen-lined ground squirrels in southern Wisconsin . J. Mamm. , 46 : 76 – 87 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Scott J. P. 1958 . Animal behavior . Univ. Chicago Press , 281 pp. Stickel Lucille F. 1954 . A comparison of certain methods of measuring ranges of small mammals . J. Mamm. , 35 : 1 – 15 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Wade O. 1927 . Breeding habits and early life of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, Citellus tridecemlineatus (Mitchell) . J. Mamm. , 8 : 269 – 276 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Wade O. 1950 . Soil temperatures, weather conditions, and emergence of ground squirrels from hibernation . J. Mamm. , 31 : 158 – 161 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Zimny M. L. 1965 . Thirteen-lined ground squirrels born in captivity . J. Mamm. , 46 : 521 – 522 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat This content is only available as a PDF. 1966 The American Society of Mammalogists http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Mammalogy Oxford University Press

Annual Cycle, Population Dynamics and Adaptive Behavior of Citellus Tridecemlineatus

McCarley, Howard
Journal of Mammalogy , Volume 47 (2) – May 26, 1966
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References (15)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2021 American Society of Mammalogists
ISSN
0022-2372
eISSN
1545-1542
DOI
10.2307/1378126
Publisher site
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Abstract

Abstract A marked population of Citellus tridecemlineatus, averaging 131 individuals per year, was studied for 3 years on a 113-acre tract in northern Texas. Emergence from hibernation was from 12 March to 5 April. Adults began hibernating in July and juveniles in August and September. Adults averaged 135 days of dormancy and 238 days of aboveground activity. Mating occurred aboveground in April, May and June. Litters were born in May, June and July. Some females older than one year produced two litters per reproductive season. Size of litters emerging from the nest burrow ranged from an average of 4.9 for young females to 7.0 for old females. The sex ratio of juveniles was 1:1. The resident adult population varied from 24 individuals in 1965 to 34 individuals in 1964 with a sex ratio of 1 male: 2.8 females. Mature females tended to survive longer than mature males. Home ranges averaged 11.7 acres for males and 3.5 acres for females. Population size was mostly regulated by dispersal of the juvenile part of the population in late summer and early fall. Additional adjustment of population size and sex ratio through dispersal and mortality occurred in the spring. Colonies of thirteen-lined ground squirrels in northern Texas probably result from attraction to a particular habitat rather than attraction of one squirrel to another. Because the species does tend to occur in colonies, both social and individual behavior have evolved. The adaptive significance of vocal signals, defense and care of young, burrow construction and escape behavior are discussed. Literature Cited Asdell S. A. 1964 . Patterns of mammalian reproduction . Cornell Univ. Press , Ithaca , 2nd Ed. Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Blair W. F. 1940 . Home ranges and populations of the meadow vole in southern Michigan . J. Wildl. Manage ., 4 : 149 – 161 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Evans F. C. 1951 . Notes on a population of the striped ground squirrel (Citellus tridecemlineatus) in an abandoned field in southeastern Michigan . J. Mamm. , 32 : 437 – 449 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Hayne D. W. 1949 . Calculation of size of home range . J. Mamm. , 30 : 1 – 18 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Howell A. H. 19G8. Revision of the North American ground squirrels, with a classification of the North American Sciuridae . N. Amer. Fauna , 56 : 1 – 256 . Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Johnson G. E. 1931 . Early life of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel . Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci. , 34 : 282 – 290 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Kayser C. 1965 . Hibernation (in Physiological Mammalogy) . Academic press , New York , II : 179 – 296 . King J. A. 1955 . Social behavior, social organization and population dynamics in a black-tailed prairiedog town in the Black Hills of South Dakota . Contr. Lab. Vert. Biol., Univ. Mich., Ann Arbor , No, 67 : 1 – 123 . OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat Larson Rachel Simms M. E. . 1965 . Double mating; its use to study heritable factors in dental caries . Science , 149 : 982 – 983 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS PubMed WorldCat Pengelley E. T. Fisher K. C. . 1961 . Rhythmical arousal from hibernation in the golden-mantled ground squirrel, Citellus lateralis tescorum . Can. J. Zool. , 39 : 105 – 120 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Pengelley E. T. 1963 , The effect of temperature and photoperiod on the yearly hibernating behavior of captive golden-mantled ground squirrels (Citellus lateralis tescorum) . Can. J. Zool. , 41 : 1103 – 1120 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Rongstad O. J. 1965 . A life history study of thirteen-lined ground squirrels in southern Wisconsin . J. Mamm. , 46 : 76 – 87 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Scott J. P. 1958 . Animal behavior . Univ. Chicago Press , 281 pp. Stickel Lucille F. 1954 . A comparison of certain methods of measuring ranges of small mammals . J. Mamm. , 35 : 1 – 15 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Wade O. 1927 . Breeding habits and early life of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, Citellus tridecemlineatus (Mitchell) . J. Mamm. , 8 : 269 – 276 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Wade O. 1950 . Soil temperatures, weather conditions, and emergence of ground squirrels from hibernation . J. Mamm. , 31 : 158 – 161 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat Zimny M. L. 1965 . Thirteen-lined ground squirrels born in captivity . J. Mamm. , 46 : 521 – 522 . Google Scholar Crossref Search ADS WorldCat This content is only available as a PDF. 1966 The American Society of Mammalogists

Journal

Journal of Mammalogy – Oxford University Press

Published: May 26, 1966

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