Abstract
During surveys of upland forests in the Tsuga heterophylla Zone in Washington and Oregon, 1986 to 1996, we caught 192 S. gracilis. In the Oregon Coast Range, more (85%) S. gracilis were caught in oldeilar to Coast Range old growth (P = 0.60) with no differences between seral stages (P = 0.74). No S. gracilis were caught in upland forests > 500 m in Washington or at low elevations in the Puget Trough. Spilogale gracilis was widely distributed in upland forests, but may be tied to riparian areas at elevational extremes. Old growth provides good habitat in some dry areas (Coast Range), perhaps through better developed forest floors (coarse woody debris, litter, humus) than are found in young stands. Absence from the Puget Trough study areas may reflect dryness, disturbance history, and forest fragmentation by agriculture and urban development. Future research on S. gracilis may lead to a better understanding of forest-floor processes and differences in ecosytem processes that occur elevationally within relatively small geographic areas.
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