Black-footed ferret digging activity in summer
Western North American Naturalist
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Abstract
Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) excavate soil from prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) burrows, thereby creating characteristic soil deposits at burrow openings. These soil deposits have been observed only rarely in summer. We monitored adult ferrets during June–October of the years 2007 and 2008 on a 452-ha colony of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) in the Conata Basin, South Dakota. We located and identified ferret excavations during nighttime spotlight surveys for ferrets and daytime sampling of prairie dog burrow openings around locations where ferrets were located via spotlight. We accumulated 48 observations of in-process or recently completed ferret excavations during spotlight surveys (21 in 2007, 27 in 2008) and located 51 diggings during daytime burrow sampling (25 in 2007, 26 in 2008). We located diggings during 5.5% of spotlight observations, most frequently in July–August. These results collectively suggest ferrets may frequently excavate soil in summer, because prairie dogs frequently use soil to plug burrow openings and tunnels in defense against ferrets. Prairie dogs might frequently destroy soil deposits left by ferrets during summer, thereby reducing detection of diggings by biologists.
Suggested Citation
Eads, D., Biggins, D.E., Marsh, D., Millspaugh, J.J., Livieri, T., 2012, Black-footed ferret digging activity in summer: Western North American Naturalist, v. 72, no. 2, p. 140-147, https://doi.org/10.3398/064.072.0203.
ISSN: 1944-8341 (online)
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Black-footed ferret digging activity in summer |
| Series title | Western North American Naturalist |
| DOI | 10.3398/064.072.0203 |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Brigham Young University |
| Publisher location | Provo, UT |
| Contributing office(s) | Fort Collins Science Center |
| Description | 8 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Western North American Naturalist |
| First page | 140 |
| Last page | 147 |
| Country | United States |
| State | South Dakota |
| Other Geospatial | Conata Basin |