Home range use by Abert squirrels: A comparative analysis

We compared data from an analysis of space use by Abert squirrels (Sciurus aberti) performed in 1991 with data from a previous study performed in 1971 at the same study site (Farentinos, 1979). In both studies, home range est imates based on the 100% minimum convex polygon (MCP) method were positivel y correlated with sample size. The number of home range sightings used for calculations in the current study was significantly larger for both males a nd females when compared to that used by Farentinos (1979), as were estimat es of home range. Results from the current study also contradict Farentinos ' earlier findings that males have larger home ranges during the breeding s eason than the nonbreeding season, and that males have larger home ranges d uring the breeding season than females year around. The method used to esti mate home range sizes may have influenced the results, and the 100% MCP met hod may be of limited use for drawing meaningful biological comparisons, un less sample size is held constant.