The Washington ground squirrel lives in sagebrush or grassland habitats in the Columbia River Basin of Washington and Oregon. Washington ground squirrels hibernate/estivate 7–8 months each year. Adults breed shortly after emergence from hibernation in January or February and juveniles emerge from the natal burrow in March. Juveniles disperse away from the natal burrow and settle into new areas. All Washington ground squirrels gain weight and prepare for hibernation in late spring and early summer. Juveniles immerge for estivation in June or July, and adults begin estivating earlier, often in June.
One radiotracking study focused on dispersal of Washington ground squirrels.[2] It found that 72% percent of juvenile males dispersed in April. Dispersal distances ranged from 40 to 3521 meters and the median dispersal distance was 880 meters. Twenty to 56% of radio-collared juvenile squirrels survived to estivation. Raptors and badgers were the primary causes of mortality. Survival rates of dispersers were higher than non-dispersers, mostly due to badger predation on natal sites.
Conservationedit
The species is listed as endangered in Oregon and is a candidate for endangered species listing in the United States, but is not currently listed. The IUCN formerly listed the species as vulnerable, but currently it is listed as near threatened.[1]
^ abYensen, E.; Hammerson, G. & Popper, K. P. (2008). "Spermophilus washingtoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2009.old-form url
^Klein, K. J. 2005. Dispersal patterns of Washington ground squirrels in Oregon. M.S. Thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. 127 pp.
External linksedit
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washington, ground, squirrel, urocitellus, washingtoni, near, threatened, species, squirrel, distributed, pacific, northwest, states, washington, oregon, united, states, conservation, statusnear, threatened, iucn, scientific, classificationdomain, eukaryotakin. The Washington ground squirrel Urocitellus washingtoni is near threatened species of squirrel distributed in the Pacific Northwest states of Washington and Oregon United States Washington ground squirrelConservation statusNear Threatened IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass MammaliaOrder RodentiaFamily SciuridaeGenus UrocitellusSpecies U washingtoniBinomial nameUrocitellus washingtoni A H Howell 1938 SynonymsSpermophilus washingtoni A H Howell 1938 Contents 1 Distribution 2 Conservation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksDistribution editThe Washington ground squirrel lives in sagebrush or grassland habitats in the Columbia River Basin of Washington and Oregon Washington ground squirrels hibernate estivate 7 8 months each year Adults breed shortly after emergence from hibernation in January or February and juveniles emerge from the natal burrow in March Juveniles disperse away from the natal burrow and settle into new areas All Washington ground squirrels gain weight and prepare for hibernation in late spring and early summer Juveniles immerge for estivation in June or July and adults begin estivating earlier often in June One radiotracking study focused on dispersal of Washington ground squirrels 2 It found that 72 percent of juvenile males dispersed in April Dispersal distances ranged from 40 to 3521 meters and the median dispersal distance was 880 meters Twenty to 56 of radio collared juvenile squirrels survived to estivation Raptors and badgers were the primary causes of mortality Survival rates of dispersers were higher than non dispersers mostly due to badger predation on natal sites Conservation editThe species is listed as endangered in Oregon and is a candidate for endangered species listing in the United States but is not currently listed The IUCN formerly listed the species as vulnerable but currently it is listed as near threatened 1 See also editGround squirrelReferences edit a b Yensen E Hammerson G amp Popper K P 2008 Spermophilus washingtoni IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008 Retrieved 8 January 2009 old form url Klein K J 2005 Dispersal patterns of Washington ground squirrels in Oregon M S Thesis Oregon State University Corvallis OR 127 pp External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Urocitellus washingtoni This ground squirrel article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Washington ground squirrel amp oldid 1210061358, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
