Abstract
To clarify the home range size and potential for overlap of the Japanese squirrel, radio tracking and direct observation were conducted in Takamatsu Park and its surrounding forest, in Morioka City, Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan. Our results support a relationship between home range and the population density of walnut trees in each squirrel’s home range. The average sizes of male and female home ranges were 3.65 ha and 1.45 ha, respectively. The respective percentages of home range overlap for males and females were 36.5% and 62.9%. We analyzed the relation between walnut population density in each squirrel’s home range and home range size. The density of walnut trees was negatively correlated with female home range size. Furthermore, walnut density in the overlapping areas were larger than those without overlap in the female home ranges. Results show that walnut population density is closely related to overlapping female home ranges.
