Northern pocket gopher
The northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) is a small gopher species native to the western United States and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Manitoba.
Description
Northern pocket gophers have long rich brown to yellowish brown fur, paler below, with a black patch behind the ear. They weigh 60-160 grams (2-5.5 ounces).
Habitat
Their habitat consists usually of good soil in meadows or along streams; most often in mountains, but also in lowlands. Northern pocket gophers rarely appear above ground; when they do, they rarely venture more than 2.5 feet from a burrow entrance. Underground, however, they often have tunnels that extend hundreds of feet where they live, store food, and mate.[2]
Interactions
According to an article in the Journal of Mammalogy, there are both positive and negative impacts of burrowing by pocket gophers on the organisms around them. Burrowing and grazing have an impact on the plants and the herbivores that consume these plants, even though gophers do not directly interact with the insects in their habitats. Changes in the plants’ composition can cause an increase in soluble amino acids, carbohydrates, chemicals, which causes the plants to be more vulnerable: to parasites, predation, and diseases.[3]
References
- ^ Cassola, F. (2016). Thomomys talpoides (errata version published in 2017). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T42597A22215742.en
- ^ http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/mammals/mammals/pocket.html [dead link]
- ^ D. Gigi Ostrow, Nancy Huntly, Richard S. Inouye, Plant-Mediated Interactions Between the Northern Pocket Gopher, Thomomys Talpoides, and Aboveground Herbivorous Insects, Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 83, Issue 4, November 2002, Pages 991–998, https://doi.org/10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0991:PMIBTN>2.0.CO;2
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