Relating residue in raccoon feces to food consumed

Raymond J. Greenwood

doi:10.2307/2425085

Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 1001596

Relating residue in raccoon feces to food consumed

Raymond J. Greenwood

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Feeding tests were conducted with captive raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) to permit more meaningful interpretation of food habit data obtained from fecal analysis. Ten diverse types of natural foods were offered in 20 tests. Digestibility coefficients were calculated that ranged from 3.6 for dry sunflowers, where considerable residue was recovered, to infinity for earthworms and boned meat where no residue was recovered. The influence of differences in both food and animal behavior on digestibility coefficients was significant (ANOVA, F<0.001). The use of digestibility coefficients to adjust quantitative estimates of fecal residue or to predict biomass consumed is of questionable value with raccoons due to variability in foods consumed and behavior of individual animals.

Explore related subjects

American Midland Naturalist Article

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Raymond J. Greenwood. 1979. Relating residue in raccoon feces to food consumed. https://doi.org/10.2307/2425085

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2021

Spatial and temporal variation in length-weight relationships of age-0 Scaphirhynchus sturgeon in the lower Missouri River

Length-weight relationships can be useful tools for assessing fish condition. We developed these equations (W = a L b ) for wild-caught age-0 (4.1–12.0 cm) Scaphirhynchus sturgeon from eight reaches spanning over 750 river km of the lower Missouri River from 2014 to 2017. We used nonlinear modeling to estimate the constant ( a ) and exponent ( b ) of the LW equation for each reach to assess potential spatial differences. We also assessed long-term temporal effects by estimating these parameters by year at Lexington reach, which is located in the middle of our sampling area and was the only reach sampled all 4 y. Constant and exponent estimates from linearized regressions varied by reach and were inversely related during the spatial analyses. Similarly, parameter estimates were also inversely related and varied among years during the temporal analysis at Lexington. To account for the relationship between constant and exponent values, we used predicted weights at 2 cm increments (4.1–12.0 cm) for the spatial analysis (by reach) and for the temporal analysis (by year). During the 2014 and 2015 spatial analyses, weights varied by size but were usually higher in Lexington and Glasgow, which were the furthest upstream reaches sampled during those years. During 2016 and 2017, Lexington was the furthest downstream reach sampled but did not consistently yield relatively high predicted weights. Temporal analysis at Lexington yielded higher predicted weights for 2014–2015 compared to 2016–2017 for higher size categories (10- and 12-cm). In general our results suggest differences in body condition among reaches and years in the lower Missouri River. Further research is needed to identify the specific mechanisms driving spatial and temporal L-W relationship differences observed and to determine if differences in predicted body conditions affect long-term survival and recruitment of age-0 Scaphirhynchus sturgeon. Currently, factors influencing age-0 Scaphirhynchus sturgeon condition and growth are unknown and this work serves to highlight knowledge gaps regarding factors influencing Scaphirhynchus sturgeon recruitment.

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska↗

USGS2021

Limited co-existence of native unionids and invasive dreissenid mussels more than 30 Y post dreissenid invasion in a large river system

There are serious concerns for native freshwater mussel survival (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in the Laurentian Great Lakes region after populations were seemingly pushed to the brink of extirpation following the introduction of dreissenid mussels ( Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis bugensis ) in the mid-1980s. The Detroit River was the first major river system in North America to be invaded by dreissenids, and unionids were considered extirpated from the river by 1998. Since then several unionid refuges (areas with relatively low dreissenid impact and surviving unionids) have been found in coastal areas of lakes St. Clair and Erie, but no documentation exists in the Detroit River. To assess dreissenid presence and potential unionid persistence, a mixture of stratified random, historical, and potential refuge sites were surveyed during summer 2019 in the Detroit River. Unionid and dreissenid habitat use was further investigated with analysis of variance and classification tree analyses. Of the 56 sites surveyed, only five sites had live unionids totaling 220 animals of 11 species. More than 2000 unionid shells of 31 species were collected from 39 sites, confirming the large and diverse unionid populations that existed prior to the dreissenid invasion. Ninety-eight percent of live unionids found showed evidence of past or present dreissenid attachment. Estimated dreissenid densities were highly variable with river location and ranged from 0 to 5673 live individuals per m 2 , with the largest densities concentrated in the upstream half of the Detroit River. Despite their previously assumed extirpation from the Detroit River, live unionids were found during this comprehensive survey. Although only 40% of the historical species within the unionid assemblage remains, our results suggest, in the right conditions, some coexistence is possible among some species of unionids and dreissenids in this large river system.

Michigan↗

USGS2020

Looking at the bigger picture: How abundance of nesting and brooding habitat influences lek-site selection by Lesser Prairie-Chickens

Lesser Prairie-Chicken ( Tympanuchus pallidicinctus ) populations have declined throughout most of their distribution since the mid-1980s. These declines are largely attributed to loss of habitat through the conversion and expansion of cropland, construction of oil wells and other anthropogenic features on the landscape, and grazing intensification. Changes in habitat availability and quality are seemingly having a disproportionate effect on the reproductive habitat of Lesser Prairie-Chickens, as some populations continue to decline. Nest and brood survival are crucial to population growth of Lesser Prairie-Chickens, with adequate reproductive habitat vital to population persistence. To better understand the influence of reproductive habitat availability on populations, we quantified the composition of reproductive habitat in lek landscapes across the northern extent of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken range. We measured vegetation at six study sites in Kansas and Colorado from 2013–2016. We sought to quantify available nest and brooding habitat adjacent to leks, investigate the relationship between reproductive habitat availability and lek attendance by males at several spatial scales, and examine vegetation characteristics that influence lek attendance. Within 5 km of a lek, 25% (2546/10,320 points) and 26% (2682/10,320 points) of random locations provided nesting and brooding habitat, respectively. Changes to reproductive habitat at both scales affected male attendance at leks. Visual obstruction of vegetation was the main predictor of male lek attendance at both spatial scales and limited the amount of reproductive habitat in lek landscapes. Accordingly, management should increase visual obstruction throughout the Lesser Prairie-Chicken range to increase reproductive success and improve populations to facilitate achieving the conservation goal set by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies of a 10 y average Lesser Prairie-Chicken population of 67,000 birds.

Colorado, Kansas↗