Seasonal Activity Cycle and Weight Changes of the Franklin's Ground Squirrel

1986 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Choromanski-Norris ◽  
Erik K. Fritzell ◽  
Alan B. Sargeant
Keyword(s):  
Ground Squirrel ◽  
Activity Cycle ◽  
Seasonal Activity ◽  
Weight Changes ◽  
Franklin's Ground Squirrel

Seasonal Activity Patterns of Two Species of Nyctophilus Bats Based on Mist-Net Captures.

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 349
Author(s):  
R.M. Brigham ◽  
F. Geiser
Keyword(s):  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Activity Cycle ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Seasonal Activity ◽  
Daily Torpor ◽  
Bat Activity ◽  
Annual Activity ◽  
A Site ◽  
Mist Net

We evaluated the annual activity cycle of Nytophilus gouldi and N. geoffroyi using 82 nights of mist-netting data from a site near Armidale in northern NSW. Our purpose was to assess whether these bats hibernated or used short bouts of daily torpor combined with foraging on at least some nights. During the cold months of the year (May - August) bat activity levels inferred from net captures was very low providing support for the hypothesis that these bats use daily torpor and at least sometimes actively forage as opposed to entering hibernation.

scholarly journals Distribution, Abundance, and Habitat Associations of Franklin’s Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii Sabine 1822)

2007 ◽  
Vol 38 (1-6) ◽  
pp. 1-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Huebschman
Keyword(s):  
Tallgrass Prairie ◽  
Ground Squirrel ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
The Body ◽  
Spermophilus Franklinii ◽  
Conservation Concern ◽  
Franklin's Ground Squirrel ◽  
Dispersal Events

To better inform conservation and management strategies directed at Franklin’s ground squirrel, Spermophilus franklinii, I reviewed published and unpublished accounts of the squirrel’s distribution, abundance, and principally, habitat associations. I present the body of literature on S. franklinii and include portions of original accounts to avoid potential bias from paraphrasing. A consensus of the literature indicates that S. franklinii is most frequently associated with habitat characterized by a mixture of grassy and woody vegetation, referred to as savanna-like or parkland habitat. Moreover, S. franklinii has had an affinity for this type of habitat throughout its geographic range in recent, historic, and even prehistoric times. This is in contrast to a view of the species as primarily associated with tallgrass prairie habitat. As indicated in the literature, populations of S. franklinii are subject to marked fluctuations, which probably are influenced by local disturbances in addition to regular dispersal events. In the southern part of its geographic range, S. franklinii is currently limited in its occurrence principally to roadside and railroad right-of-ways. In these southern regions S. franklinii is justifiably of conservation concern. I suggest that more detailed surveys for the species (such as those that have recently occurred in Illinois and Missouri) take place in Iowa and Kansas.

The seasonal and diurnal activities of individual sheep ticks (Ixodes ricinus L.)

Parasitology ◽  
1951 ◽  
Vol 41 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 189-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Lees ◽  
A. Milne
Keyword(s):  
Ixodes Ricinus ◽  
Activity Cycle ◽  
Diurnal Fluctuation ◽  
Tick Population ◽  
Seasonal Activity ◽  
Gravity Response ◽  
The Mean ◽  
First Time ◽  
Activity Behaviour ◽  
Humidity Reaction

1. Activity in Ixodes ricinus was studied by laying down newly emerged ticks in natural clumps of vegetation from which all hosts (with the possible exception of ‘mice’) were excluded. After a period of quiescence the ticks climbed to the ‘active’ position at the vegetation tips. Activity was assessed either by simple observation (in adults which were marked individually) or by ‘brushing’ the vegetation with the hands (nymphs and larvae). 52 % of the adults and 44 % of the nymphs were recovered.2. The seasonal activity behaviour was followed in three series of ticks set out during May, July and October 1945. The results were used in interpreting the time relations of seasonal activity in ‘wild’ populations. The timing of the activity cycle appears to be largely determined by the availability of unfed ticks rather than by the prevailing meteorological conditions.3. The diurnal pattern of behaviour in active ticks was closely examined during a 24 hr. period. Many remained at the tips without moving. The others began or ended a phase of activity by night or by day; but among these, the proportion ending a phase at night was significantly greater. This is the main reason for the previously reported diurnal fluctuation of activity in a tick population.4. Two hundred and seven adult ticks spent, on an average, a total of 9 days at the vegetation tips (individual limits 1 and 54 days). This activity was spread over an ‘active period’ (interval between first and last appearances) averaging 30 days. Very active ticks rarely remained continuously at the tips. The mean number of visits to the tips was 4 (limits 1 and 19), each lasting for an average of 2·5 days. Where long spells of activity alternate with short periods of quiescence, the behaviour is probably regulated by the humidity reaction, the quiescent phase providing an opportunity for restoring the depleted water balance.5. Newly moulted adult ticks possess reserves of fat adequate for many months of quiescence. During activity these reserves are exhausted in a few weeks or even days. Duration of survival mainly depended on whether the onset of activity was immediate or delayed. Some adults remained quiescent for 1 year before becoming active for the first time.6. Several types of orientations were observed in the field. In attaining the position at the tips favourable for encountering a host, the gravity response (upward-turning near the tip) is of major importance. The tick avoids wind and direct sunlight by sheltering behind its supporting stem. In sensing the approach of a ‘host’ (the observer's finger) the perception of eddies of warm air is particularly significant. The response (questing, then orientation) is elicited much less readily if the stimulus is applied from the leeward.

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