Home range, movement, and activity patterns of the Florida spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius ambarvalis) in prairie habitat.

The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) is of increasing conservation concern across its range, with managers requiring information on the species' spatial ecology to design conservation actions. The Florida spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius ambarvalis) is the smallest and least-studied subspecies, with little known about its home range size and movement ecology. We fitted Florida spotted skunks with VHF radio-transmitters and tracked them to diurnal den sites in 2016 and 2017 to estimate home range sizes. We were able to calculate 95% kernel density estimates of home range size for 12 skunks (7 males, 5 females) and found that males had significantly larger (mean ± SE) home range sizes (1.60 km2 ± 0.38) than females (0.36 km2 ± 0.06). Additionally, to gather information on the nightly activity patterns and fine-scale movements of Florida spotted skunks, we fitted skunks with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars in 2017 and successfully retrieved location data from 24 individuals (12 males, 12 females). We tracked GPS-collared skunks over an average of 5.7 days (range = 1–9 days) and a mean of 115.75 locations per skunk (range = 4–223). The mean distance traveled per night for a skunk in our study area was 1874 m (range = 437–3451 m). Mean distance traveled per night was positively influenced by mean nightly temperature, but did not differ significantly by sex, moon illumination, or rainfall. Florida spotted skunks were most active ~ 2 h after sunset and nightly activity declined from that period on. Home range estimates (100% minimum convex polygons) derived exclusively from daytime den locations were significantly smaller than those derived from nighttime locations. Our research advances our understanding of Florida spotted skunk spatial ecology, including the first use of GPS collars on the subspecies, and provides novel information for future ecological comparisons with other populations. Our results suggest that the frequent practice of relying solely on daytime locations when tracking spotted skunks may under-represent their areas of habitat use and might fail to capture important nocturnal foraging areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]