BULLETIN FLORIDA MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY VOL. 38 PT. 11(9)


protection they provided (1, cavities; 2, nests/Spanish moss/vines; and 3,
branch/crotch of trees), males' preferential use of less-protected sites (branch/crotch
of tree) was the largest contributor to the significant chi-square value (Z2 = 24.53,
df = 2, p < 0.001), with differential male and female use of tree cavities also
making a large contribution.
 Eleven species of trees were used by raccoons for rest sites, with three species
of oak (Quercus hemisphaerica, Q. geminata, and Q. laevis) accounting for the
most use. Mean DBH of trees chosen by males (40.08 cm, SD = 15.13, 95%
confidence interval = 34.5-45.6) was smaller than that of trees chosen by females
(46.69 cm, SD = 16.11, 95% confidence interval = 42.2-51.13 cm), although the
difference was not significant (t = -1.85, p = 0.07).


 DISCUSSION

 Habitat Use


 Both the Friedman's and the chi-square tests indicated that swamp forest is
used more than expected based on its availability at the Ordway, and sandhill and
old fields less than expected. In both analyses, use of hammocks and clear-water-
lake fringes falls between these two extremes. The rank ordering of least to most
preferred habitat types from the Friedman's test (sandhill, old field, clear-water-
lake fringes, hammock, and swamp forests) roughly reflects a moisture gradient
from less to more mesic. That there was greater trap success in closed-canopy
mesic (swamp forest and hammocks) than in open-canopy xeric (sandhill) sites
also indicates a preference by Ordway raccoons for more mesic habitats. This
preference for mesic habitats is similar to that found in studies of raccoon habitat-
use in other areas (Stuewer 1943; McKeever 1959; Sonenshine and Winslow 1972;
Fritzell 1978; Hudson 1978) and to that of the previous study done in north-central
Florida based on trails picked up by hunting dogs (Caldwell 1963).
 However, there was considerable individual variability in habitat use. One
source of this variability was sex of the raccoon. Males made greater use of
sandhills than females. This could be because of greater movements by males
(Walker 1993), presumably due to their greater body size (Walker 1993) and
metabolic needs, and to their reproductive activities. The mean number and
proportion of different habitat types in male and female home ranges were not
significantly different, so habitat availability was approximately the same overall
for the two sexes. Thus, the greater use of sandhills by males is not merely a
reflection of larger male home-range size.
 Not all individual variability could be accounted for by sex, however. Some
raccoons "specialized" by concentrating their activities in certain habitat types. For
most females and some of the males, the majority of their locations were in one