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This section provides a historical account of the trapping of antelope ground squirrels in southwest Idaho in 2017.
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Expedition Report: "How to Capture an Antelope Ground Squirrel"
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In late 2016 and early 2017, when Dr. Refinetti was on the faculty of
Boise State University (in Idaho), he had the good fortune of befriending Dr. Jim Kenagy, an ecologist
from the University of Washington. Dr. Kenagy had extensive previous experience in the study of antelope
ground squirrels and other rodent species in deserts of western North America. The two of them set out
to search for antelope ground squirrels in southwest Idaho.
The procedures were conducted under Idaho Department of Fish and Game Permit No. 160812
and Boise State University Animal Care and Use Committee Protocol No. 006-AC16-013.
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Unlike most rodents, which are active at night, squirrels are generally day-active and
are potential candidates as diurnal animal models for biomedical research.
The antelope ground squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus) is unique among
ground squirrels in that it is not a hibernator and remains active on the surface in the field
throughout the entire year. With a body mass of about 120 g, it is also
intermediate in size between the domestic mouse and the laboratory rat.
The geographic range of the antelope ground squirrel extends from southwestern Idaho
and southeastern Oregon through most of Utah and Nevada, western Colorado, northwestern
New Mexico, northern Arizona, southern California, and the full length of the Baja California
peninsula. Refinetti and Kenagy surveyed a small part of the northernmost extension of this range
in Owyhee County, Idaho, south of the Snake River, in July 2016 to search for likely habitat,
with positive confirmation of a considerable amount of undisturbed desert habitat and sightings
of the squirrels at and near localities previously recorded in museum databases (vertnet.org).
In mid December 2016 and early April 2017, they set out Sherman live traps (LFAGTD, H. B. Sherman
Traps Inc., Tallahassee, FL) to capture animals for laboratory studies. Thanks to Kenagy's previous
experience, they knew that antelope ground squirrels were the only diurnal rodents inhabiting this
area, which meant that they did not have to worry about unintentionally trapping other species.
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The area of about 200 km2 that they explored (seen in the satellite photograph below) was
in the Owyhee Desert, with trapping limited to the vicinity south of Oreana, Idaho (latitude 43°00' N,
longitude 116°20' W, altitude 850 m).
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Much of the Owyhee Desert is public land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
The soils and vegetation are typical of arid lowland scrub within the Great Basin Desert, with
sparsely distributed shrubs, predominantly Great Basin sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
and greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus). The ground squirrels were strongly associated
with the more alkaline soils dominated by greasewood.
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On the initial survey in July, they sighted antelope ground squirrels in multiple locations within the
expected area, generally moving around on the ground but occasionally perched in the top of bushes,
as documented in the photograph below (red arrow). They observed a large number of burrow entrances
in the habitat. The area is also home to a variety of nocturnal rodent species, including the Great Basin
pocket mouse (Perognathus parvus), Ord's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ordii), Great Basin kangaroo
rat (Dipodomys microps), western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis), deer mouse
(Peromyscus maniculatus), and bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea).
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As expected in a desert, there is very little precipitation in the summer (8 mm per month). There is a
little more precipitation in the winter (22 mm per month), mostly as ice and snow. Low temperatures
average −4 °C in the winter and 18 °C in the summer. High temperatures average
4 °C in the winter and 34 °C in the summer.
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They placed five sets of 50 traps, each set a few kilometers apart. Individual traps were spaced about 6-8 m
apart and baited with seeds after sunrise, monitored once or twice during the day, and closed prior to
sunset. The locations of two traps are indicated by red arrows in the photograph below.
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Refinetti and Kenagy deployed 250 traps for two days in December and three days in April. They captured one
female and two males in December and four females and five males in April. Upon visual inspection they observed
external parasites (fleas and ticks) in December but not in April. Antelope ground squirrels were the
only vertebrate animals captured in the traps. By closing the traps at night they avoided the unintentional
capture of nocturnal rodents.
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The animals captured in the field did well in captivity. One to two weeks after capture, all of them had
gained weight, increasing on average from 108 g on the day of capture to 132 g two weeks later and stabilizing
at a mean body weight of 120 g. The squirrels ate Purina rodent pellets regularly through metal cage tops and
drank water from bottles with metal sipping tubes. Carrot slices and grapes offered as supplement were always
consumed by the next day.
At the time of cage changes, the cage was placed in a deep outer container
(70 cm deep) to facilitate the transfer because antelope ground squirrels can jump much higher than rats or
mice and would otherwise escape from the cage. The animals were scooped from the dirty cage with a 600-ml
plastic cup with a screw-on lid and transferred to the clean cage after being weighed.
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For information about other animal species used in the lab,
check the Animal Species section of this web site. You may also want to visit the Circadian Rhythms section. |
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© R. Refinetti · www.circadian.org ·
All rights reserved
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