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Notes on behavior of the Texas kangaroo rat (Dipodomys elator).

Article Excerpt
The Texas kangaroo rat (Dipodomys elator) is listed as a threatened species by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (Schmidly 2004). Reasons for listing D. elator are largely based on its apparent scarcity and small geographic range. Investigators have found D. elator in only 10 counties in north-central Texas (Schmidly 2004). The International Union for Conservation of Nature (1986) listed habitat loss and degradation resulting from expanding agricultural and infrastructure development as the major threats to continued existence of D. elator. There is general agreement that D. elator requires a sparse, short-grassland habitat (Carter et al. 1985; Dalquest & Collier 1964; Goetze et al. 2007; Roberts & Packard 1973; Stangl et al. 1992), but this type of habitat is becoming less common throughout the present range of the Texas kangaroo rat (Goetze et al. 2007).

With the exception of a few brief reports (Dalquest & Collier 1964; Chapman 1972; Roberts & Packard 1973; Packard & Roberts 1973), little information exists on behavior of the Texas kangaroo rat. Information on home ranges and burrow affinity was mostly obtained in catch-and-release studies of this Texas state-threatened species. Sociality and other behaviors have been described for other species of kangaroo rats (Behrends et al. 1986; Randall 1989; 1991; 1993; 2007; Jones 1993; Yoerg 1999), but have not been specifically documented for D. elator. A thorough understanding of the social interactions and other behaviors of a species provides vital information for its conservation (Allison & Destefano 2006). Focal observations on agonistic, dust bathing, foraging, and day burrow usage behaviors for D. elator are presented within this note.

During a study involving habitat characterization, burrow use, and population estimation of the Texas kangaroo rat (Goetze et al. 2007), night vision scopes were used to closely observe behavior. Dipodomys elator is a nocturnally active species and previous researchers have utilized dim incandescent lighting to observe behavior. The use of infrared scopes disturbs the animals less and is an additional way of observing behavior of this species. In their study of equipment and techniques for nocturnal wildlife studies, Allison & Destefano (2006) pointed out that night vision scope generation model, light pollution due to nearness of urban areas, approach distance to study subjects, ability to distinguish individuals, and inclement weather were potential drawbacks of research utilizing night vision scopes. However, the D. elator study site was not located near...

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