POPULATION-DYNAMICS AND ECOLOGY OF VIRGINIA OPOSSUMS IN SOUTHERN TEXAS

We livetrapped Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) on the Welder Wildlife Refuge, Texas, to describe population dynamics of opossums in a subtropical climate. We captured and marked 91 opossums during 3,37 3 trapnights during 1990-1993. Population densities ranged from 1.08 t o 6.82 opossums/km(2). Densities did not decline following winter, but densities were lower during a drought than post-drought. Only 4% of o possums were recaptured greater than or equal to 12 months after their original capture, and the longest time between first and last capture s was 16 months. Drought had no apparent effect on mean weight and dis tance between captures. The breeding season occurred from early Januar y through September, when we concluded our trapping effort.