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Factors influencing winter home ranges and activity patterns of raccoon dogs Nyctereutes procyonoides in a high-altitude area of Japan

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Abstract

Between October 2006 and June 2007, we radio-tracked six adult raccoon dogs Nyctereutes procyonoides (Gray, 1834) in a high-altitude area of Japan to determine which factors influenced home ranges, daily movements, and activity patterns of Japanese raccoon dogs, with an emphasis on the winter season. The home-range sizes for the six individuals were smaller in winter than in autumn. In winter, the daily movement distances significantly decreased in response to decreasing temperature and increasing snow depth, suggesting these environmental factors contributed to a decrease in the home-range sizes during this period. Moreover, during daytime, raccoon dogs were more active in winter than in the snow-free periods (autumn and spring), and the proportion of the daytime movement distances to the total daily movement distances significantly increased as the mean daily air temperatures decreased. Therefore, it appears that the raccoon dogs in our study area passed the winter by minimizing their energy expenditure by restricting their movements when temperatures were at their lowest and snow depth was highest, and by moving more during the daytime when temperatures were higher.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Drs. T. Okubo, M. Kobayashi, M. Aizawa, and T. Takahashi of Utsunomiya University for their valuable advice and constructive criticism of the manuscript. We are also grateful to Ms. C. Imaki and Dr. H. Imaki for improving our English. We thank Ms. R. Horie, Utsunomiya University and Mr. T. Okumura, Tokyo University, for instructing us on GIS analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 3-5-8 Saiwai-cho, Fuchu-City, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshikazu Seki

  2. Utsunomiya University Forests, Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University, 7556 Funyu, Shioya-machi, Shioya-gun, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

    Masaaki Koganezawa

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  1. Yoshikazu Seki
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  2. Masaaki Koganezawa
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Correspondence to Yoshikazu Seki.

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Communicated by: Krzysztof Schmidt

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Seki, Y., Koganezawa, M. Factors influencing winter home ranges and activity patterns of raccoon dogs Nyctereutes procyonoides in a high-altitude area of Japan. Acta Theriol 56, 171–177 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-010-0020-y

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