Space Use and Multi-Scale Habitat Selection of Adult Raccoons in Central Mississippi

Abstract

Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are important furbearers and ecological generalists that exist in a variety of landscapes. Numerous studies have examined raccoon space and macrohabitat use, but information detailing these parameters within pine-dominated landscapes is lacking. Furthermore, no studies using radiotracking have examined raccoon habitat use at multiple spatial scales. We radiomonitored 131 adult raccoons (99 M, 32 F) during 1991-1997 in central Mississippi, USA. We subsequently assessed space use and habitat selection at 3 spatial scales. Males maintained larger home ranges and core areas than females. Size of home ranges differed by season, but raccoons maintained similar-size core areas across seasons. Habitat use differed by gender only at the coarsest spatial scale. Raccoons consistently used mature (>30 years old) pine and hardwood habitats over other available habitats at all spatial scales. Although hardwood-dominated habitats were important to raccoons, our findings suggest that in pine-dominated landscapes, raccoons select multiple seral stages of pine. Raccoons also readily used ≤8-year-old pine habitats, likely because of increased foraging opportunities within these habitats, particularly, during spring and summer. Our findings illustrate the importance of juxtaposition of habitat types for raccoons in pine-dominated landscapes, specifically the availability of mature pine and hardwood habitats, as well as early-successional habitats capable of providing beneficial foraging resources. Additionally, our findings offer evidence that prescribed burning may alter landscape use by raccoons, providing the potential that manipulating burning frequencies may allow managers to manage raccoon habitat-use patterns.