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Home Range and Movements of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas By: Donald W. Janes |
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Vol. 10, No. 7, pp. 553 572, 4 pls., 3 figs.
May 4, 1959
Home Range and Movements
of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas By DONALD W. JANES UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Lawrence
1959 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS, MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch,
Robert W. Wilson Volume 10, No. 7, pp. 553 572, 4 pls., 3 figs.
Published May 4, 1959 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Lawrence, Kansas PRINTED IN
THE STATE PRINTING PLANT
TOPEKA, KANSAS
1959
Home Range and Movements
of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas By DONALD W. JANES
INTRODUCTION A knowledge of the home range and movements of the cottontail
( Sylvilagus floridanus ) is one of the most important prerequisites
for estimating effectively its numbers and managing its populations. By
comparing results obtained from different methods, previously used, for
determining the size of the home range I have attempted to develop a
more valid procedure. The study here reported upon was made on the University of Kansas
Natural History Reservation (Sec. 4, T. 12S, R. 20E), the
northeasternmost section of Douglas County, Kansas, approximately 6 1/2
miles north northeast of the University campus at Lawrence. The
590 acre reservation, situated in the ecotone between the eastern
deciduous forests and the prairie of the Great Plains near the north
edge of the Kansas River Valley, has been protected as a "natural area"
since 1948 (Fitch, 1952). It consists of tree covered slopes, and flat
grass covered hilltops and valleys. Two limestone outcrops follow the
contours about five and 20 feet below the tops of the hills. The 90 acre study area consists of a valley bordered on the north by a
wooded slope and on the southeast by another wooded slope adjacent to a
narrow hilltop, east of which is another wooded slope. The area is thus
an alternating series of three wooded slopes and two grass covered,
relatively level areas. The wooded slopes rise from the valley for about 125 feet at a grade of
approximately 16 per cent. There is a sharp increase in grade to 36 per
cent 100 feet below the top of the hills. A natural terrace 50 feet to
100 feet wide parallels the hilltop at the base of the 36 per cent
incline. The vegetation of the northwest facing wooded slopes has been described
by Packard (1956). It consists of American elm ( Ulmus americana ),
shagbark hickory ( Carya ovata ), chestnut oak ( Quercus
muehlenbergii ), black oak ( Quercus velutina ), and black walnut
( Juglans nigra ), in that order of dominance. Honey locust ( Gleditsia
triacanthos ) and hackberry ( Celtis occidentalis ) are also present.
Shrubs and herbs of the lower story include greenbriar ( Smilax
hispida ), wild grape ( Vitis vulpina ), Virginia creeper
( Parthenocissus quinquefolia ), coralberry ( Symphoricarpos
orbiculatus ), gooseberry ( Ribes missouriense ), bluegrass ( Poa
pratensis ), sedges ( Carex sp.), poison ivy ( Rhus radicans ), and
white snakeroot ( Eupatorium rugosum ). The flat hilltops are covered by a mixture of grasses and forbs but are
dominated by awnless brome ( Bromus inermis ). Foxtail ( Setaria
glauca ), false redtop ( Triodia flava ), and panic grass ( Panicum
clandestinum ) also occur commonly. Awnless brome is dominant in the
valley (Pl. 46, fig. 1; Pl 47, fig. 2) except in the eastern end where
bluegrass is dominant (Pl. 45). Near the tops and bottoms of the slopes barbed wire fences separate the
woodlands from the grasslands, which were grazed until 1948. The
borderline between woods and grasslands is well defined but woody
plants are rapidly encroaching into the grasslands. Young Osage orange
( Maclura pomifera ), American elm, and hackberry are common trees
encroaching on the grasslands. The edge vegetation between woods and
fields (Pls. 45 and 47) includes smooth sumac ( Rhus glabra ),
coralberry and wild plum ( Prunus americana ). The lowland edges are
characterized by blackberry ( Rubus argutus ), greenbriar and
elderberry ( Sambucus canadensis )... Continue reading book >>
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