Activity Patterns of Allegheny Woodrats (Neotoma magister) and Two Potential Competitors in Virginia

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dc.contributor.authorPowers, Karen E.en
dc.contributor.authorThorne, Emily D.en
dc.contributor.authorPlatt, Logan R.en
dc.contributor.authorAnderson, Kayla M. Nelsonen
dc.contributor.authorVan Meter, Logan M.en
dc.contributor.authorWozniak, Chris M.en
dc.contributor.authorReynolds, Richard J.en
dc.contributor.authorFord, W. Marken
dc.coverage.countryUnited Statesen
dc.coverage.stateVirginiaen
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-07T12:51:52Zen
dc.date.available2023-06-07T12:51:52Zen
dc.date.issued2023-03en
dc.description.abstractNeotoma magister (Allegheny Woodrat) is a nocturnal, emergent rock-habitat specialist (i.e., inhabits rocky outcrops, boulderfields, and caves). Woodrat populations have declined range-wide due to habitat fragmentation, endoparasites, and interspecific competition. We estimated the diel activity curves of Allegheny Woodrats and assessed the effects of habitat type (exposed rock habitat/cave- exterior vs. cave-interior) and season (spring, summer, and fall) on curve shape. We also investigated the effect of 2 granivorous competitors' presence and activity curves (Peromyscus spp. and Tamias striatus [Eastern Chipmunk]) on woodrat activity. Additionally, we investigated whether the presence or absence of Procyon lotor (Raccoon), a primary carrier of Baylisascaris procyonis (Raccoon Roundworm), significantly affects the presence or absence of Allegheny Woodrats. We used remote-detecting cameras to document the diel cycles of Allegheny Woodrats and 2 competitors across 83 sites in western Virginia and 2 sites in West Virginia from 2017 to 2022. For 13,002 recorded events, we detected woodrats at 36 of 85 sites (3778 camera events). We observed a higher proportion of daytime activity by woodrats within cave interiors than cave exteriors. Allegheny Woodrat activity curves differed among seasons, with the greatest differences observed between summer and fall and with similar to 80% activity overlap. These activity curves differed significantly when co- occurring with versus not co-occurring with a competitor. Additionally, Allegheny Woodrats showed an inverse activity rate with Peromyscus spp. Thus, our results suggest that competition avoidance via temporal partitioning occurs between these species. Allegheny Woodrats and Raccoons occurred together more often than expected suggesting the presence of woodrats is currently not reduced by the presence of Raccoons. Our remote-detecting camera data help elucidate relationships of Allegheny Woodrats with presumptive competitors, and open avenues for further investigation in Virginia.en
dc.description.adminPublic domain – authored by a U.S. government employeeen
dc.description.notesFunding was provided by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources through a Wildlife Restoration Program Grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Funding and equipment support were provided by Virginia Tech and Radford University. We thank M. Beckner, J. Bentley, K. Black, J. Blevins, J. Brown, C. Bryan, J. Crotts, H. Custer, M. Dimas, K. Ellis, S. Felty, H. Greer, S. Hannabass, N. Harris III, R. Harris, A. Leon, E. Luehr, N. McDonald, B. Mullen Griffith, R.J. Powers, and S. Powers for field assistance. We are grateful to multiple landowners for allowing access to privately owned sites. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government. Data are not publicly available at this time from Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.en
dc.description.sponsorshipVirginia Department of Wildlife Resources through a Wildlife Restoration Program Grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service; Virginia Tech and Radford Universityen
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.eissn1938-5307en
dc.identifier.issn1092-6194en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/115367en
dc.identifier.volume30en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherEagle Hill Instituteen
dc.rightsPublic Domain (U.S.)en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/en
dc.subjectperomyscus-leucopusen
dc.subjectfood-habitsen
dc.subjectlandscapeen
dc.subjectrodentsen
dc.subjectconservationen
dc.subjectpopulationsen
dc.subjectmovementsen
dc.subjectoverlapen
dc.subjectecologyen
dc.titleActivity Patterns of Allegheny Woodrats (Neotoma magister) and Two Potential Competitors in Virginiaen
dc.title.serialNortheastern Naturalisten
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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