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Variation in home range and use of habitat in the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2000

Andrea Bixler  and
John L. Gittleman
Andrea Bixler
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1606, U.S.A.
John L. Gittleman
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1606, U.S.A. Current address: Department of Biology, Gilmer Hall, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903, U.S.A.
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Abstract

We studied home-range size, home-range overlap and use of habitat in a population of striped skunks Mephitis mephitis in eastern Tennessee. Variables determined to influence home-range size were season and body weight: skunks had larger ranges in the spring than in winter and heavier females had larger ranges. Habitat, sex and sample sizes of radio-fixes did not correlate with home-range size. All home ranges overlapped by 1.4–100% of the range area. There was no pattern of greater intersexual than intrasexual overlap; this differs from many other carnivore studies. Movements of individuals and distribution of den sites indicated that striped skunks, irrespective of sex or size, prefer edge habitat in comparison to forest or field.

Keywords

Mephitis mephitisstriped skunkhome-range sizehabitat use
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Zoology , Volume 251 , Issue 4 , August 2000 , pp. 525 - 533
Copyright
© 2000 The Zoological Society of London

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