Effects of Fire on Endangered Mount Graham Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis): Responses of Individuals with Known Fates

Abstract

Abstract We studied demography and behavior of endangered Mount Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) inhabiting areas within and outside low-intensity burns following the Nuttall Fire in the Pinaleno Mountains, Arizona. Body mass, proportion of individuals in reproductive condition, and distance squirrels traveled to nest did not differ between squirrels within and outside the perimeter of the fire. Within the perimeter, red squirrels had smaller home ranges and shifted territories less frequently and had shorter distances from their previously held territories than squirrels outside the perimeter. Mount Graham red squirrels evolved with patchy, low-intensity fires like those that burned in mixed-conifer forests in the Pinaleno Mountains and may be able to persist in areas affected by this level of disturbance.