Reproductive cycle of the squirrel Sciurus variegatoides (Rodentia: Sciuridae) in Costa Rica
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22458/urj.v11i2.2260Keywords:
squirrels, reproduction, population structure, Sciurus variegatoides, Costa Rica.Abstract
Introduction: the squirrel Sciurus variegatoides is one of the most abundant species of squirrels in Central America, yet little is known about its reproduction. Objective: to determine the reproductive cycle of S. variegatoides in an agricultural area of Costa Rica. Methods: monthly (Dec. 1986 to Jan. 1988), I collected 10 animals at Hacienda Curú, Paquera, Costa Rica. I used scrotum presence, testicle size and length of the uterine horns to assess maturity. The reproductive cycle was based on pregnancy, lactation, courtship, nest construction, and proportion of subadults. Results: I collected a total 135 squirrels; sex ratio was 1,7 males per female; and 22% were subadults, both for males and females. I captured the pregnant females from December to June and represented 42% of the adult females. February and April were marked by courtship and an increase in the construction of nests. I collected lactating females from June to September, when I captured more subadults. Conclusion: There was no evidence of reproductive activity in October and November.
References
Best, T.L. (1995). Sciurus variegatoides. Mammalian Species, 500, 1-6. DOI: 10.2307/3504262
Birnes, E.C., Bowles, J.B., Timm, R.M., & Williams, S.L. (1974). Mammalian distributional records in Yucatán and Quintana Roo, with comments on reproduction, structure, and status of peninsular populations. Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, Occasional Papers, 13, 1-12.
Boucher, D.H. (1981). Seed predation by mammals and forest dominance by Quercus oleoides, a tropical lowland oak. Oecologia, 49, 409-414. DOI: 10.1007/BF00347608
Brown, L. M., & McGuire, R.J. (1975). Field ecology of the exotic Mexican red-bellied squirrel in Florida. Journal of Mammalogy, 56, 405-419. DOI: 10.2307/1379370
Fleming, T.H. (1970). Notes on the rodent faunas of two Panamanian forests. Journal of Mammalogy, 51, 473-490. DOI: 10.2307/1378388
Giacalone, J., Glanz, W.E., & Leigh, E.G. (1990). Adición: Fluctuaciones poblacionales a largo plazo de Sciurus granatensis en relación con la disponibilidad de frutos. En A.S. Rand, D.M. Windsor, & E.G. Leigh (Eds.), Ecología de un bosque tropical: ciclos estacionales y cambios a largo plazo (pp. 331-335). Panamá: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Glanz, W.E. (1984). Food and habitat use by two sympatric Sciurus species in Panama. Journal of Mammalogy, 65, 342-347. DOI: 10.2307/1381179
Glanz, W.E., Thorington, R.W., Giacalone-Madden, J., & Heaney, L.R. (1990). Utilización estacional de alimentos y tendencias demográficas de Sciurus granatensis. En A.S. Rand, D.M. Windsor, & E.G. Leigh (Eds.), Ecología de un bosque tropical: ciclos estacionales y cambios a largo plazo (pp. 317-3309). Panamá: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Goodwin, G.G. (1946). Mammals of Costa Rica. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 87, 275- 473.
Harris, W. P. (1937). Revision of Sciurus variegatoides, a species of Central American squirrel. Museum of Zoology University of Michigan. Miscellaneous publications, 38, 5-39.
Hayssen, V. (2008). Patterns of body and tail length and body mass in Sciuridae
Journal of Mammalogy, 89, 852-873.
Heaney, L.R. (1991). Sciurus granatensis (Ardilla, Ardilla Roja, Chisa, Red-tailed Squirrel). En D. Janzen (Ed.), Historia Natural de Costa Rica (pp. 503-504). San José, Costa Rica: Organización de Estudios Tropicales y Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.
Heaney, L.R., & Thorington, R.W. (1978). Ecology of Neotropical red-tailed squirrels, Sciurus granatensis, in the Panama Canal Zone. Journal of Mammalogy, 59, 846-851. DOI: 10.2307/1380149
Henn, J.J., McCoy, M.B., & Vaughan, C.S. (2014). Beach almond (Terminalia catappa, Combretaceae) seed production and predation by scarlet macaws (Ara macao) and variegated squirrels (Sciurus variegatoides). Revista Biología Tropical, 62, 929-938. DOI: 10.15517/rbt.v62i3.14060
Hilje, L., & Monge, J. (1988). Lista preliminar y consideraciones generales acerca de los animales vertebrados plaga en Costa Rica. Manejo Integrado de Plagas, 10, 39-52.
Janzen, D.H. (1971). Escape of juvenile Dioclea megacarpa (Leguminosae) vines from predators in deciduous tropical forest. The American Naturalist, 105, 97-112. DOI: 10.1086/282709
Janzen, D.H. (1972). Escape in space by Sterculia apetala seeds from the bug Dysdercus fasciatus in a Costa Rican deciduous forest. Ecology, 53, 350-361. DOI: 10.2307/1934092
Janzen, D.H. (1982a). Natural history of guacimo fruits (Sterculiaceae: Guazuma ulmifolia) with respect to consumption by large mammals. American Journal of Botany, 69, 1240-1250. DOI: 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1982.tb13369.x
Janzen, D.H. (1982b). Fruit traits, and seed consumption by rodents, of Crecentia alata (Bignoniaceae) in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica. American Journal of Botany, 69, 1258-1268. DOI: 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1982.tb13371.x
Jones, J.K., Genoways, H.H., & Lawlor, T.E. (1974). Annotated checklist of mammals of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico ii. Rodentia. Occasional Papers the Museum Texas Tech University, 22, 1-24.
McPherson, A.B. (1971). A new subspecies of the squirrel Sciurus variegatoides Ogilby from Costa Rica. Revista Biología Tropical, 19, 191-194.
McPherson, A.B. (1985). A biogeographical analysis of factors influencing the distribution of Costa Rican rodents. Brenesia, 23, 97-273.
Méndez, E. (1993). Roedores de Panamá. Panamá: Impresora Pacífico.
Monge, J. (2009). Roedores plaga de América Central. San José, Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica.
Monge, J., & Hilje, L. (2006). Hábitos alimenticios de la ardilla Sciurus variegatoides (Rodentia: Sciuridae) en la Península de Nicoya, Costa Rica. Revista Biología Tropical, 54, 681-686. DOI: 10.15517/rbt.v54i2.14113
Ramos-Lara, N., & Cervantes, F. A. (2011). Ecology of the Mexican red-bellied squirrel (Sciurus aureogaster) in Michoacan, Mexico. The Southwestern Naturalist, 56, 400-403. DOI: 10.1894/N02-RTS-11.1
Reid, F. A. (2009). A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico. New York, USA: Oxford University Press.
Rose, L.M., Perry, S., Panger, M.A., Jack, K., Manson, J.H., Gros-Louis, J., … Vogel, E. (2003). Interspecific interactions between Cebus capucinus and other species: Data from three Costa Rican sites. International Journal of Primatology, 24, 759-796. DOI: 10.1023/A:1024624721363
Schemske, D.W. (1980). Floral ecology and hummingbird pollination of Combretum farinosum in Costa Rica. Biotropica, 12, 169-181. DOI: 10.2307/2387968
Somarriba, E., Trivelato, M., Villalobos, M., Suárez, A, Benavides, P, Morán, K., … López, A. (2003). Diagnóstico agroforestal de pequeñas fincas cacaoteras orgánicas de indígenas Bribri y Cabécar de Talamanca, Costa Rica. Agroforestería de la Américas, 10, 24-30.
Thorington, R.W., & Hoffmann, R.S. (2005). Family Sciuridae. En D.E. Wilson, & D.M. Reeder (Eds.), Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference (Vol.1, 3rd ed.) (pp. 754-818). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Thorington, R.M., Koprowski, J.L., Steele, M.A., & Whatton, J.F. (2012). Squirrels of the world. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Tosi, J. (1969). Mapa ecológico de Costa Rica. Escala 1:750 000. San José, Costa Rica: Centro Científico Tropical.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Note: This abstract contains an incorrect copyright due to technical issues. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal
All journal contents are freely available through a CC BY 4.0 license.
CC BY 4.0 is a Creative Commons: you can copy, modify, distribute, and perform, even for commercial reasons, without asking permission, if you give appropriate credit.
Contents can be reproduced if the source and copyright are acknowledged according to the Open Access license CC BY 4.0. Self-storage in preprint servers and repositories is allowed for all versions. We encourage authors to publish raw data and data logs in public repositories and to include the links with all drafts so that reviewers and readers can consult them at any time.
The journal is financed by public funds via Universidad Estatal a Distancia and editorial independence and ethical compliance are guaranteed by the Board of Editors, UNED. We do not publish paid ads or receive funds from companies.