Spatial Organization of Adult Bobcats in a Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass Ecosystem in Southwestern Georgia
2006; Eagle Hill Institute; Volume: 5; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1656/1528-7092(2006)5[711
ISSN1938-5412
AutoresJessica Cochrane, Jordona D. Kirby, Ivy G. Jones, L. Mike Conner, Robert J. Warren,
Tópico(s)Avian ecology and behavior
ResumoLynx rufus (bobcat) home-range sizes have been studied throughout the Southeast, but study duration is generally ≤ 2 years and number of bobcats sampled is often < 20. There have been even fewer studies dealing with spatial interactions of bobcats, and fewer still within a Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) ecosystem. Because both bobcat home-range sizes and the degree that space is shared by bobcats are highly variable, it is important to understand factors that influence bobcat home-range size and spatial organization within the various habitats where this species is found. Therefore, we determined seasonal and annual home-range sizes and spatial overlap of bobcats in a longleaf pine forest in southwestern Georgia. We monitored 44 radio-collared bobcats (17 M and 27F) during 2001–2004. Gender and year did not interact to affect bobcat annual home-range sizes (95% adaptive kernel), and annual differences in annual home-range sizes were insignificant. However, male bobcats had annual home-range sizes almost 2 times greater than those of females. Gender and season interacted to affect seasonal home-range sizes of bobcats; thus, we analyzed seasonal home-range sizes for each gender separately. Seasonal home-range sizes of male bobcats did not differ. However, for female bobcats, the greatest home-range sizes occurred during winter of 2003 and the smallest during summer of 2002. We examined 3 types of spatial overlap: male-male, female-female, and female-male. Home-range overlap differed among types; female-male overlap was approximately 1.6 times greater than female-female overlap and approximately 2.8 times greater than male-male overlap. Our home-range sizes were among the smallest reported in the Southeast. While intrasexual overlap is generally considered rare in bobcats, we observed sharing of space by male-male and female-female pairs. Furthermore, space shared by female-female pairs exceeded that of male-male pairs, contrary to hypotheses concerning land tenure of solitary carnivores. Land-management practices, such as prescribed burning and maintenance of food plots, provided abundant small prey for bobcats and best explain smaller home-range sizes of bobcats in this study relative to that reported in most other southeastern studies. We suggest that spatial exclusivity among male-male and female-female pairs is most likely when prey are moderately abundant, but that exclusivity of home ranges may be abandoned when prey are either abundant or rare. Further investigation into home-range overlap is needed to consider the effect of bobcat density on these variables.
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