Movement and Resource Selection of Baird's Pocket Gopher within a Longleaf Pine Ecosystem

摘要

Our objectives were to describe movement patterns and resource selection of Geomys breviceps (Baird's Pocket Gopher) within a Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) savannah ecosystem in west-central Louisiana. Radio-tagged Baird's Pocket Gophers exhibited high fidelity to burrow systems with a median interlocation distance of 0 m and median minimum-convex-polygon home range of 353 m(2). The resource selection function (RSF) predicted increasing relative likelihood of Baird's Pocket Gopher use with increasing forb cover and decreasing use with increasing cover by pine stems 25 cm in diameter and increasing midstory pine basal area. The RSF supports continued application of Picoides borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpecker) recovery guidelines to benefit Baird's Pocket Gophers.