The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) is a species of conservation concern across much of its range and has experienced a population decline since the 1940s. Little is known about the Florida spotted skunk (S. p. ambarvalis), a subspecies endemic to peninsular Florida, but previous studies and the frequency of incidental observations suggest that populations of this subspecies might be more abundant than the two eastern spotted skunk subspecies that occur elsewhere. To better understand the status and demography of the Florida spotted skunk, we assessed the density and survival of a population occurring predominantly in dry prairie habitat in south-central Florida. To obtain density estimates, we trapped spotted skunks on a mark–recapture grid over 11 independent 4-day trapping sessions from 2016 to 2018. To obtain survival estimates, we monitored weekly survival of 38 radiocollared spotted skunks (20 collared initially in 2016 and 18 collared initially in 2017) from February 2016 to August 2017. We captured a minimum of 91 unique spotted skunks on 404 occasions on the mark–recapture grid and our density estimates ranged from 6.52 ± 2.93 skunks/km2 to 23.29 ± 7.65 skunks/km2, depending on trapping session, but seasonal differences in density were not significant. The sex ratio of spotted skunks at our site was 1.0M:3.8F. Mean annual survival for all spotted skunks was 0.714 (0.503–0.925, 95% CI), and sex, season, and year did not have significant effects on survival. This survival estimate is the highest reported thus far for any skunk species. Collectively, the density and survival estimates from our study are higher than those of many other mephitids and mustelids of similar size, and these findings reinforce the value of studying locally abundant populations of small carnivores to better inform the conservation, management, and potential restoration of these species in the future.

中文翻译：

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佛罗里达州中南部的一种本地小型食肉动物佛罗里达斑点臭鼬 (Spilogale putorius ambarvalis) 的高密度和存活率

东部斑点臭鼬 (Spilogale putorius) 在其大部分分布范围内都是一种受保护的物种，自 1940 年代以来种群数量一直在下降。人们对佛罗里达半岛特有的亚种佛罗里达斑点臭鼬 (S. p. ambarvalis) 知之甚少，但之前的研究和偶然观察的频率表明，该亚种的种群可能比东部的两个斑点臭鼬亚种更丰富。发生在别处。为了更好地了解佛罗里达斑点臭鼬的状况和人口统计，我们评估了主要发生在佛罗里达州中南部干燥草原栖息地的种群的密度和存活率。为了获得密度估计，我们在 2016 年至 2018 年的 11 次独立的 4 天诱捕过程中将斑点臭鼬捕获在标记-重新捕获网格上。为了获得生存估计，从 2016 年 2 月到 2017 年 8 月，我们监测了 38 只带无线电项圈的斑点臭鼬的每周存活率（20 只最初在 2016 年戴上项圈，18 只在 2017 年最初戴上项圈）。我们在标记-重新捕获网格和我们的密度上 404 次捕获了至少 91 只独特的斑点臭鼬估计范围从 6.52 ± 2.93 只/km2 到 23.29 ± 7.65 只/km2，取决于诱捕时段，但密度的季节性差异不显着。我们网站上斑点臭鼬的性别比例为 1.0M:3.8F。所有斑点臭鼬的平均年存活率为 0.714 (0.503–0.925, 95% CI)，性别、季节和年份对存活率没有显着影响。这一生存估计是迄今为止报告的任何臭鼬物种中最高的。集体，