| dc.description.abstract | Several techniques of age determination have been used on hunted squirrels to determine age distribution in the populations. These techniques include morphological characters, lens weight, and cementum annuli. The purpose of this study was to compare these three techniques, and to examine the field reliability of the morphological techniques.
The eyeballs and lower jaws were removed from harvested squirrels on the Engeling Wildlife Management Area in Anderson County, Texas on 2 weekends in October 1981, 1982, and 1983. Lens weights were determined and cementum annuli were scored to estimate age. Coefficients or correlation were determined for the variables, and the frequency of harvest in each age category was compared to actual harvest on the area. No correlation was found between cementum annuli and body weight or lens weight, but a positive correlation existed between lens weight and body weight. A positive relationship existed between harvest and age which indicated that the majority of squirrels harvested were from subadult and adult age categories. These results indicate that the cementum annuli technique needs further work to test its reliability, and that body weight can be used accurately in the field as a determination of age. | en |
