Document Type
Presentation (Class or campus)
Scholarship Type
Student Scholarship
Presentation Date
12-4-2014
Event Name and Location of Presentation
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Student Poster Session
Instructor(s) or Advisor(s)
Travis Perry, Mike Winiski
Abstract
The Ladder Ranch is a 156,439 acre property located in the southwestern portion of New Mexico. The ranch has a diverse set of biomes from pine forests to desert grasslands which supports a large array of biodiversity (bison to mountain lions to wolves). Ted Turner, the owner of the ranch, largely supports the conservation of its biodiversity, especially mountain lions (Turner Enterprises Inc., 2012). In order to properly conserve this species, the scientific community must first understand what impacts this species. M.M Grigione et al (2002) found that sex, body mass, deer relative abundance, and study site all influence home range size for mountain lions. Females often have an overall lower home range due to cub raising. The closer the mountain lion stays to her offspring, the more likely they are to survive. Seasonal home ranges are normally mainly impacted by prey availability and density. Winter in New Mexico normally decreases available vegetation and therefore prey is not as easily accessible, by necessity winter home ranges normally increase. Home range interactions are normally dictated by the mountain lion’s sex. Kerry L. Nicholson et al. (2011) conducted a three year long study on 29 radio-collared mountain lions in Arizona to determine the spatial and temporal interactions among individual members of mountain lion populations. This study found that male-male pairs were located within 1km of each other 0.04% of the time while female-male pairs were near each other 3.0% of the time. It is logical that male and female home ranges interact more for mating purposes and because male female pairs do not as readily compete as male-male pairs. Through genotyping analysis this study found overall males were less related to other males than females were related to other females. This result could be the result of male mountain lion physical altercation as well as males being less likely to survive than females.
Additional Affiliated Department, Center or Institute
Earth and Environmental Science, Center for Teaching and Learning
Recommended Citation
Ellington, Jordan, "A Comparative Map of Seasonal Home Ranges of Pumas by Sex" (2014). Biology Presentations. 1.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/bio-presentations/1