NO!...It’s a Glaucomys Sabrinus

NO!...It’s a Glaucomys Sabrinus

By: Jeremy Lung

1. Description and Ecology of Organism 

It a bird! It a plane! No!...It’s a Glaucomys sabrinus!  

But what is a Glaucomys sabrinus?...well it is commonly referred to as a Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel.  First discovered in the 1950’s, this nocturnal rodent captivated scientists as they tried to figure out how these rodents were able to swiftly and safely “fly” from one tree to another ("Species Profile”).

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This brightly colored northern flying squirrel—that is brown on top and gray on the belly—is able to successfully “fly” from place to place due to its loose skin that stretches across all four of its limbs (“Appalachian Northern”). The bird does not actually “fly,” but rather glides from place to place, or as Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story says it, “falling with style.”  The squirrel uses trigonometry to
calculate how far to "fly" to its desired location by walking along two points on a branch and finding the center point (Perez-Orella).  It will also use its “rudder-like” tail to navigate itself as it glides, allowing the squirrel to make turns up to 90-degrees in the air (@nwf).

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Although the squirrels are most commonly referred to as r-selected species, they have traits that make them a k-selected species.  For example, newborn squirrels are completely helpless and need the aid of their mother for the first month (@nwf).  There has even been a study where an older female squirrel lived with 4 or 5 other younger squirrels that could have lived on their own (Raleigh Ecological).  It appears that the “mother” was taking care of her young, although they did not necessarily need her help. 

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Though the Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel can glide from one place to another, it spends most of its time on the ground ("Species Profile”).  It tends to scavenge for strong scented fungi and lichen to eat that is located on the bottom of most roots of conifer and hardwood trees (“Species Profile”).  The Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel helps the environment by consuming the fungi and keeping their levels in control, ensuring that they are not overgrown.  Without this specie, the forest would be covered with fungi and lichen, and the balance of the environment would be offset. 

      

2. Geographic and Population Changes

Carolina Northern Flying Squirrels tend to live in the conifer and hardwood forests found in certain sections of the Appalachian Mountains (Raleigh Ecological).  At 4,000+ feet in elevation, these trees make up the forest, and make it a perfect place for the squirrels to thrive.  Not only do the squirrels eat fungi off the roots of the trees, they also commonly rely on them for shelter.  They create dens that are usually in woodpecker cavities, rotten knotholes, or rock dens, and nests compiled of sticks call “drevs,” (Raleigh Ecological).

While the “Glaucomys” species can be found in the northern parts of North America, as depicted in the first map, “Glaucomys sabrinus” are primarily found in a select region of the Appalachian Mountains, as shown in the second map ("Species Profile”). 

 

http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/900924c.pdf

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has been unable to produce and report an accurate population count for the Glaucomys sabrinus species, but experiments have been conducted in an effort to discover a trend ("Species Profile”).  The habitat makes it extremely difficult to study population, and in light of this, researchers began setting traps. With these traps, said researchers could estimate the amount of squirrels caught compared to the amount of traps set, and after a few years, were able to note a decline in population levels ("Species Profile”).  It was also noted that the population would continue to consistently decline if human-intervention was not implemented ("Species Profile”).  In regards to this, a fun fact is that due to the location that it presides in and the fossils in the surrounding area, it is believed that these rodents are relics of the Ice Age’s “Appalachian Northern”.

3. Listing Date and Type of Listing

Due to their nocturnal lifestyles in those dense Appalachian mountain range forests, the Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel was only recently found in the 1950’s (@nwf).  On November 21^st, 1984, the proposal to put the flying squirrel on the endangered list was filed (@nwf).  By July 1^st, 1985, the Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel was finally approved to be there (@nwf).

4. Cause of Listing and Main Threats to its Continued Existence 

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According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the main threats to the Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel are human-related activities ("Species Profile”).  Although there is no specific activity that contributed to the listing of these squirrels, activities such as mining, logging, polluting, and the building of roads have been degrading and fragmenting the surrounding habitat for years ("Species Profile”).  The squirrels need large, dense, continuous forests.  If the habitat is consistently changing, they will never have the chance to survive.  When humans build roads or mines, they degrade and fragment the habitat, making the process of navigating to find food and shelter far more difficult.  When humans log, they are destroying the forests and taking away places for birds to live and feed off of.  Pollution has also been contributing to the degradation of the habitat as litter and acidic rain created by carbon emissions end up in the woods Glaucomys sabrinus call home.

5. Description of Recovery Plan

According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) report on Carolina Northern Flying Squirrels, the Recovery Plan includes (1) determining the distribution of the squirrel, (2) getting adequate protection against human-related activities, (3) having a better understanding of the ecology, (4) noting the response of the modifications of the study, and lastly (5) aiming to enhance the habitat ("Species Profile”). 

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6. What Can You Do?

So, what can we do?  We can stay on designated paths and not disturb the surrounding environment (@nwf).  Leaving the habitat untouched allows the forest to grow naturally and successfully without hindrances from humans.  Living a healthy and sustainable life will also contribute to helping to save the Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel (Raleigh Ecological).  Please do your part to save the Glaucomys sabrinus population.

7. Other Resources

@nwf. "Flying Squirrels - National Wildlife Federation." National Wildlife Federation.  N.p.,        n.d.Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

“Appalachian Northern Flying Squirrel." Appalachian Northern Flying Squirrel (1985): n. pag. FWS. USFWS. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

Perez-Orella, Carolina, and Albrecht I. Schulte-Hostedde. "Carolina Northern Flying  Squirrel." Can. J. Zool. Canadian Journal of Zoology 83.10 (2005): 1381-385.   FWS. USFWS. Web. 12 Nov. 2016.

Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife. "Raleigh Ecological Services Field Office." Raleigh Ecological Services Field Office. USFWS, 6 Aug. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife. "Species Profile for Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Sabrinus Coloratus)." Species Profile for Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Sabrinus Coloratus). USFWS, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.