Download or read book Ecology and Conservation of Island Spotted Skunks written by Ellen Bolas and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Carnivores seldom occur on islands and may be more vulnerable to extinction than mainland counterparts. However, carnivores likely play important roles in ecological communities on islands and thus are of conservation concern. Two of the California Channel Islands, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa, are unusual in that they support two endemic carnivores, the island spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis amphiala) and the island fox (Urocyon littoralis). While the island fox has received much attention, island spotted skunks have been little studied, and their population status and ecological relationships with island foxes are poorly understood. This information is particularly important because fluctuations in skunk numbers appear to be influenced by changing fox abundance, and skunk numbers appear to have recently declined to rarity with the potential for extinction. This thesis addresses gaps in knowledge of island spotted skunks by investigating appropriate methods for monitoring and determining their current status (Chapter One), and exploring microhabitat associations and temporal activity by both skunks and foxes that may facilitate coexistence between the two (Chapter Two). The status of island spotted skunks is uncertain, although incidental captures in traps set for island foxes suggest that skunks have declined to low numbers. To resolve this uncertainty, for Chapter One I superimposed wildlife cameras at fox traps on Santa Cruz Island in 2016 and both islands in 2017 to provide a second measure of skunk detectability. On both islands and in both years, detection rates of skunks with fox traps and with cameras did not differ significantly during the summer, indicating the two methods are of similar reliability for detecting skunks. However, in 2017, skunk detections with cameras increased from summer to early winter, suggesting monitoring in fall or winter may improve survey efforts. Additionally, low detection rates of island spotted skunks (