The influence of mammalian predator exclusion, food supplementation, and prescribed fire on survival of Glaucomys volans

Abstract

Little is known about demographic parameters of the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) or the factors influencing those parameters. We conducted capture-mark-recapture studies from January 2005 to September 2009, and from May to November 2010 to provide rigorous estimates of survival rates for the southern flying squirrel in a longleaf pine ecosystem. We also examined the effect of experimental food supplementation, prescribed fire, and mammalian predator exclusion on survival rates. Monthly apparent survival rates estimated from the 2 studies were 0.85 ± 0.01 SE and 0.81 ± 0.04, respectively. Prescribed fire positively influenced survival; survival increased for a period up to 9 months after burns. Evidence that food supplementation and mammalian predator exclusion substantially affected survival rates was weak. These results suggest that the southern flying squirrel population in our study site during the study period was not food-limited, and that mortality due to mammalian predators is insubstantial. However, we do not know if any reduction in mortality due to mammalian predator exclusion could have been compensated for by an increase in mortality due to predation by raptors and snakes. © 2013 American Society of Mammalogists.