Bioclimate.org: Direct effects of fire on endangered Mount Graham red squirrels

Authors	Koprowski J.L. , Leonard K.M. , Zugmeyer C.A. , Jolley J.L.
Source	The Southwestern Naturalist (1)
Type	P - Paper (2851)
Peer Review	2 - Medium (2288)
Audience	S - Specialist (3514)
Pages	59-63
Notes	Abstract. Direct mortality of forest wildlife due to fire is rarely documented. In June and July 2004, the Nuttall Complex Fire burned 11,898 ha in the Pinalen˜o Mountains, southeastern Arizona. Portions of these mountains serve as the only habitat of endangered Mount Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis). Survival of radio-collared red squirrels over a period that included the fire was lower in areas that were burned than on unburned areas; however, the majority of squirrels on our study areas survived the fire. Distance of nests from middens did not differ between pre-fire and post-fire periods for animals in burned or unburned areas, indicating that squirrels did not abandon middens immediately after surviving the effects of fire.