Genetic variation, selection and speciation in
Thomomys talpoides pocket gophers.
Agricultural pest management yields new insight into movement of western pocket gophers (
Thomomys sp.) Brittany M.
Field studies indicate that there is only one instance of an owl pellet on one of the islands that contained an obvious transport from the continental coast (
Thomomys bottae; PWC field notes).
According to Vleck (1981), foraging in
Thomomys bottae (Botta's pocket gopher) is a balance between acquiring energy from food and expending energy while expanding tunnels in search of food.
Large-scale irrigation projects on the Columbia Plateau and Snake River Plain, beginning with the Reclamation Enabling Act of 1905, resulted in the conversion of hundreds of thousands of acres of shrub-steppe, a habitat largely avoided by native Red Foxes (Bailey 1936), to irrigated pasture and cropland (especially alfalfa hayfields) that now provide improved habitat for Red Fox prey (Bailey 1931, 1936; Grinnell and others 1937; Aubry 1983, 1984; Perrine 2005) such as Belding's Ground Squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi), Yellow-bellied Marmots (Marmota flaviventris), Montane Voles (Microtus montanus), and Northern Pocket Gophers (
Thomomys talpoides), all of which can reach pest levels (Dalquest 1948; Sullins and Verts 1978; Thompson 1979; Verts and Carraway 1998).
Localized high densities of subterranean tunnels created by pocket gophers (
Thomomys bottae) and moles (Scapanus spp.).
Species such as sacred fig (Ficus religiosa), mountain lion (Felis concolor), and southern pocket gopher (
Thomomys umbrinus emotus) are protected by Hindus' taboo all across the Indian subcontinent [13].
Those studies that have examined natural populations of subterranean rodents have revealed a variety of diel patterns of activity, including species that are primarily diurnal (e.g.,
Thomomys bottae: Gettinger, 1984; Spalacopus cyanus: Urrejola et al., 2005; Ctenomys talarum: Cutrera et al., 2006; Fukomys anselli: Skliba et al., 2014), species that are primarily nocturnal (e.g., Georychus capensis: Lovegrove and Papenfus, 1995; Fukomis mechowii: Lovy et al., 2013), and species in which activity occurs in bouts throughout the 24-hour cycle (e.g., Cryptomys hottentotus: Hickman, 1980; Fukomys damarensis: Lovegrove, 1988).
The target species are Taylor's checkerspot (TCS; Euphydryas editha taylori), Mazama pocket gopher (MPG;
Thomomys mazama), and streaked horned lark (SHL; Eremophila alpestris strigata).
Thomomys - western pocket gophers