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Description: |
xi, 105 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm |
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Dissertation Note: |
Ph. D. University of Missouri-Columbia 2000 |
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Bibliography Note: |
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-99). |
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Other Forms: |
Also available on the Internet. |
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Summary, Etc. Note: |
Summary: Study sites were chosen along an urban-rural gradient in the Chicago area, representing an urban, suburban, and rural environment. The effects of urbanization on raccoon (Procyon lotor) density, reproduction, survival and adult emigration were assessed within these sites. Additionally, raccoon home range size, home range overlap, spatial distribution, and propensity to become nuisance animals in the surrounding landscape were examined. At each site cage traps were used to capture raccoons over a 10-day trapping period in the spring and autumn of 1995-1997. Twenty adult females were also radio collared at each site. Densities at the urban and suburban site were not different (0.07 e"P e"0.60) for most seasons. Densities estimates for both the urban and suburban sites were greater (P <0.001) than those of the rural site for all seasons. The number of reproducing females was not found to be different among the sites. The greater proportion of juveniles to adult females at the urban site as compared to the rural site may be indicative of increased juvenile survival at the urban site, at least until their first winter. Adult female survival was highest at the urban site and lowest at the rural site during the first 2 years. Urban raccoons also had the smallest number of mortality sources, while rural raccoons had the most. The number of marked to unmarked raccoons captured each autumn revealed the possibility of reduced emigration at the urban site, although an influx of yearlings during the last study year indicated that the urban matrix is not an impassible barrier for raccoons. Urban and suburban raccoons had smaller home ranges than those at the rural site. Raccoons at the urban site exhibited a much more aggregated distribution than those at either the suburban or rural sites. Movement analyses suggests that raccoons residing within the urban site, were not primarily responsible for nuisance problems experienced in surrounding neighborhoods and industrial areas |
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Elect. Loc./Access: |
Full text PDF download http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/mo/fullcit?p9999295 free to MU campus, to others for purchase |