Christy Balderrama

Matthew Diep
Anastasia Kefalas
Tasha Shermer
Heather Yeh
Prof. Katie Rodriguez
Biology 11
September 24, 2015

Non-Native Species (Eastern Fox Squirrel) vs. Native Species (Northern Raccoon)
Both the eastern fox squirrel and the northern raccoon are generalist species; they have a varied diet and do
not rely specifically on one food source throughout the year. They both prefer similar sites for their dens, such as
hollowed-out tree stumps (Robb, Cramer, Parker, & Urbanek 1996), and while their diets are varied, they overlap.
Our hypothesis is that the non-native eastern fox squirrel could compete with, and negatively affect, the population
of native northern raccoons in the Arroyo Seco by consuming a disproportionate amount of food and shelter
resources.
Sciurus niger
,
commonly known as Eastern Fox Squirrel, Fox squirrel, as well as, Stump-Eared Squirrel and
Cat Squirrel is native to the eastern and central US, southern Canada (Palmer et al., 2007),
as well as to Mexico in the
areas around the Rio Grande and in the northeastern parts of Coahuila y Nuevo Leon. (Linzey, A.V., Timm, R.,
Emmons, L. & Reid, F., 2008). According to a research study, the fox squirrels are said to be introduced to Southern
California by Civil war and Spanish American war veterans in the early 1900s (King, J., Muchlinski, A. 2007).
The
Eastern Tree Squirrel have grown to become one of the largest squirrels in the country. Their large physical feature
and their length allow them to jump from tree to tree. Thus their choice of shelter usually are wide spaced trees that
have a big understory since they tend to be on the ground more (Urban Squirrels).
Ideally they prefer open forests with hardwood large trees, like cone-bearing pines and mast-producing oak
trees, surrounded by large, low growing wildlife or turf vegetation (Lee and Osborn, 2009,164). During periods that
fox squirrels are not very active, they prefer areas with large canopy areas, like live oaks or other trees with a
significant canopy. When they are active, during the summer, they prefer grassy areas (McCleery et al., 2007). Even

Balderrama, Diep, Kefalas, Shermer, Yeh

though fox squirrels like low tree density forests, they can also live in riparian areas and in areas where food is
available, like near urban and agricultural areas (Palmer et al., 2007).
Eastern fox squirrels live in two kinds of shelters, leaf nests or tree cavities that they use for both shelter and
having their litter. They build leaf nests during the summer on deciduous trees, and tree dens during the winter either
by making the opening themselves or most often by just finding and utilizing preexisting tree cavities (Tesky, 1993).
Additionally, depending on the geographic location of where the fox tree squirrels live, they develop
different food habits. For example, squirrels that live in hardwood forests mainly feed on pine and other seeds, bulbs,
bird eggs, insects, mast, fungi and acorns (Tesky, 1993). On the other hand, squirrels that live near agricultural areas
feed mostly on wheat, corn, fruits etc. (Tesky, 1993). More specifically in California, they tend to favor avocados,
tomatoes, oranges, strawberries and English walnuts (Tesky, 1993). Additionally, the mild climate of California allows
them to find food all year-round in the form of fruits and nuts (Tesky, 1993).
Luckily, the Eastern Fox Squirrels are able
to adapt to their environment, therefore; they are able to get ahold of their different food items (Fahey, B. 2001).
Lastly, because fox squirrels are highly reproductive (having two offspring every year), have a wide tolerance
for different habitats and a broad diet that enables them to thrive in developed areas and to co-exist with humans
(King, 2004).
Due to the different habitats that fox squirrels reside in, they tend to compete with other species for
food and shelter. As a non native species with a large physical structure, it has competed with and reduced the
number of native species in the area (Urban Squirrels). One of the species it competes with is
Procyon lotor
, more
commonly known as the raccoon.
The raccoons scientific name is
Procyon lotor
, and it is also commonly referred to as the common raccoon,
northern raccoon, or North American Raccoon. Raccoons originally lived in the tropics, where they could search for
food such as frogs and crustaceans along riverbanks. They lived in tree cavities or burrows within deciduous and
mixed forests in North America, but they eventually moved further north by taking shelter in barns to hide from
predators and escape dangerously cold winter conditions. This migration eventually led to them populating a vast
variety of habitats including mountains and urban areas, which they could handle because of their highly adaptive
feeding habits. (PBS, 2012).
Raccoons prefer environments where water is nearby, such as marshes, hardwood
swamps, floodplain forests, and mangroves. They avoid large, open fields, favoring forests and urban environments

Balderrama, Diep, Kefalas, Shermer, Yeh

that feature vertical structures they can climb when threatened (Tesky, 1995). Hollow trees, logs, rocky areas,
chimneys, attics, and crawlspaces can be used for dens (Harris & Ogan, 1997).
Raccoons are omnivores that feed on almost anything they come across that can be consumed by them. This
includes fruits, plants, nuts, berries, insects, rodents, frogs, eggs, and crayfish (PBS, 2012).
In the summer and
autumn months, they primarily consume fruits, nuts, grains, and acorns (Saunders, 1988). When they live in proximity
to humans, raccoons will also consume pet food and food left in garbage cans (Rafferty, 2007).
This can be a problem
for the humans living in cities because they are providing a stable food source for an animal that carries parasites and
disease, which can easily be spread to children. Some of their diseases include roundworm, trichinosis, and rabies.
Children are easily exposed to these diseases carried by raccoons if they play outdoors where they may come in
contact with a raccoon's feces or urine. (Lim, 2013).
Raccoons have several additional adaptations to their environment beyond their opportunistic feeding
behavior. They have very specialized toes which act as five fingers that they can use to grasp a lot of different objects.
According to Saunders (1989), The toes of the front feet of the raccoon are not only long and slender, but they also
possess a highly developed sense of touch. These sensitive front paws assist them when harvesting their traditional
plant and animal foods, and enable them to open trash cans and other man-made containers.
Their sense of touch is
dramatically strong compared to other animals, and this adaptation increases underwater. According to PBS, raccoons
will feel objects underwater if they have a chance in order to get a better sense of what they are grasping.
Their hind
paws can be rotated backwards 180 degrees; this assists them in climbing head first down trees and other vertical
structures (Blay). Their highly developed senses of smell and hearing enable them to find prey such as earthworms
buried in snow or in the dirt (Blay).
The most notable of all its adaptations is its night vision, which allows the raccoon
to be nocturnal and hunt for food during night, a time when most of its prey are more vulnerable while they rest and
cannot see in the dark. (PBS, 2012).
Urban sprawl is causing a lot of their woodlands to be destroyed, forcing them to adapt to urban habitats or
move further north into Canada. Although they are highly adaptive to live in cities because of their heightened senses
and opportunistic feeding habits, they can be easily killed by cars while crossing roads and by people who see them as
unwanted pests. (Project Wildlife, 2013).
There is evidence that urban raccoons cranial capacity has increased with
exposure to anthropogenic environments that cause them to have to cope with novel and rapidly changing

Balderrama, Diep, Kefalas, Shermer, Yeh

environments (Snell-Rood & Wick, 2013). Their diet has also adapted to incorporate human garbage and pet food
(Rafferty, 2007).
Canine distemper (paramyxovirus) is one of the greatest threats to raccoon populations. According to

Richards et. al., in some areas, up to 50% of the individuals in a raccoon population test positive for CDV [canine
distemper virus] (Richards, Rainwater, Stephens, & Rainwater 2008). Another threat is predation. Coyotes, mountain
lions, bobcats, and foxes are known to prey on raccoons (Tesky, 1995). Because raccoons are generalists, they tend to
adapt well to competition (Miller & Spoolman, 2016). However, since the non-native Eastern fox squirrel is also a
generalist species, it could therefore compete with the native raccoon for resources in the same ecological niches
(Tatina, 2007).
Competition between native and non-native species has been known to reduce the number of native
species. However, in the case of the eastern fox squirrel and the northern raccoon, the two are not important
competitors. They both seek similar resources and shelter, but because the two are generalists, the two can use
alternative resources (Robb, Cramer, Parker).
The biggest danger for fox squirrels, and in particular for their young,
comes from predators that can climb into their nests, like raccoons, rat snakes, pine snakes and opossums (Tesky,
1993).
The biggest danger for raccoons is diseases such as canine distemper (Richards, Rainwater, Stephens, &
Rainwater 2008) or predation by larger carnivores (Tesky, 1995).
One possible future research study examining the relationship between the two species could be an
observational study. In this case, without disturbing the animals behavior in their natural environment, we can
observe and record if both the fox squirrel and northern raccoon are after the same food or shelter resource, like an
oak tree or another specific plant or insect, and under what conditions. If a continuous overlap is being recorded,
regardless of the food preferences of the two, then we can say that part of our hypothesis, that the eastern fox
squirrel and the northern raccoon compete for similar resources, is being supported.
At this time, we do not have enough evidence to determine whether or not our hypothesis is supported. The
available data suggests that it is possible
that the eastern fox squirrel and northern raccoon could compete for the

same resources, however, there is also data suggesting that they would not compete for said resources (Robb,
Cramer, Parker, & Urbanek 1996). Without further research into the particulars of the relationship between fox
squirrels and raccoons in the Arroyo Seco specifically, our hypothesis will remain inconclusive.

Balderrama, Diep, Kefalas, Shermer, Yeh

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