Habitat Use by a Dense Population of Southern Fox Squirrels

Abstract

Abstract We determined seasonal macro- and microhabitat preferences of radio-collared Sciurus niger niger (Southern Fox Squirrel) in a high-density population. Fox squirrels preferred hardwood, live oak, and mixed hardwood-pine macrohabitats to pine, early successional, and turf macrohabitats. During winter, early summer, and late summer, they preferred mixed hardwood-pine, live oak, and hardwood microhabitats to pine microhabitats. Fox squirrels preferred an open or moderate crown spacing to a dense crown spacing during all seasons, and during the summer, they preferred microhabitats with at least 1 cone-bearing pine tree. Preferred microhabitats had a short-open or leaf-litter understory structure. Although the hardwood and hardwood-pine habitats on our barrier island study site differed from typical pine-dominated southeastern fox squirrel habitat, our results demonstrating preference for these types indicated that they are capable of supporting an abundant fox squirrel population when managed by mowin...