The raccoon (Procyon lotor) on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. 2, Relative abundance in different forest types as a function of population density. American Museum novitates ; no. 2648
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Abstract
"In the summer of 1976 a study was carried out of the terrain and type of vegetation at approximately 160 locations on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. All were then classified as to the major type of vegetation cover (oak, pine, palm, etc.) and this was correlated with the number of raccoons trapped at each location during the previous two years by a number of different investigators. Data were obtained on 840 records of individual raccoons trapped during a period of 11,041 trap days. A marked seasonal change in the raccoon population was found, with a low point in March and a high point six months later. During the season and year of highest density the animals were found in approximately equal numbers in all types of terrain, but as the population decreased the fall-off in number of animals was much greater in pine and pine-oak forests than in the pure oak forest. This phenomenon reversed itself as the population increased again. In pure oak forests the difference in raccoon population between the high and low density periods was approximately nine to one, whereas in pure pine forests the ratio was 50 to one. Forests composed of mixed oak and pine had population densities approximately proportional to the relative amount of either tree type. Similar facts were found for population as a function of density of understory, and distance from the coast; dense covers near the coast had the least population changes over time"--P. [1].
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 15).