Fifth Annual
C
of
I
S
T
U
D
E
N
T
R
E
S
E
A
R
C
H
C
O
N
F
E
R
E
N
C
E
2010 Archive
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Author(s): Camrin D. Braun , Samuel L. Finch , Eric Yensen
Presentation: poster
The Southern Idaho Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus brunneus endemicus) is currently listed as “threatened” on the IUCN Red List. It is endemic to a 200 km2 area in Gem, Payette, and Washington counties in central Idaho. Because digging is critical to ground squirrels, we wished to determine if its limited geographic range is limited to certain soil types. We used USDA soil survey data to represent soil types in the three Idaho counties where it occurs. Using coordinates of known southern Idaho ground squirrel locations, we calculated the preferred soil types by summing the number of squirrel occurrences found in each soil type using ESRI ArcGIS software. There was a strong preference for loam soils and few squirrels live in rocky and clay soils. Our results show that this species prefers soils with textures that promote efficient burrowing. As a threatened species, it is critical to understand the southern Idaho ground squirrel’s soil preferences to aid in the conservation of this species.
The College of Idaho 2112 Cleveland Blvd Caldwell, ID 8360 USA 208-459-5011 800-2C-IDAHO