WASSMER ET AL.: SOUTH-CENTRAL FLORIDA BOBCAT ECOLOGY


female mean range size ratio was 2.1:1. The general trend of a lower male to
female movement ratio than home range ratio shown by these data indicates,
as suggested by the authors, that although males tend to have larger ranges
than females, females tend to move around within their ranges proportionately
more than males.
 The means of day-to-day movements of adult males from December to
February, March to May, June to August, and September to November were
2.5, 1.9, 2.1, and 2.1 km, respectively. Corresponding values for adult females
were 1.6, 1.4, 1.2, and 1.4 km. Mean daily juvenile movements in fall, winter,
and spring were 0.9, 1.1, and 1.3 km, respectively. Mean day-to-day movements
of adult males during December-February were significantly greater (U =
2.5, p < 0.05, 1-tailed) than those during March-May but did not differ from
other seasons. The only significant seasonal difference in adult female
movements was between December-February and June-August (U56 5.5, p
< 0.05, 1-tailed). Small sample sizes prevented statistical comparisons of
juvenile seasonal movements. Daily distances moved by juveniles 8-10 months
old averaged 22% greater than those of juveniles 5-7 months old (U -= 6,p <
0.05, 1-tailed), reflecting the greater amount of travelling of older young with
the mother.
 In this study, day-to-day distances moved by adult females were least during
the summer months (June-August) when the females had young kittens. Late
spring to early summer reduction in female movements and/or home range
size also has been reported by other workers (Bailey 1972, 1979, Berg 1979,
Griffith and Fendley 1986, Kitchings and Story 1979, Lembeck 1978). As noted
above, reduction in daily movements of females with young litters does not
necessarily reflect a decrease in home range size as some workers have
concluded. Intensive monitoring of females with small young in this study
showed that they continued to use their entire home range but in such a way as
to reduce the chances of their being detected in peripheral areas.
 More extensive daily movements of both males and females from
December to February were correlated with the main period of juvenile
dispersal. Both breeding season activities and the mobility of older offspring
probably influenced the movements of the females. Kitchings and Story (1979)
reported that adult male bobcats moved longer distances in winter, with no
apparent changes in home range sizes. In contrast, Bailey (1972) found that
adult bobcats of both sexes moved least in fall and winter in Idaho. Among the
possible causes of the apparently different trends in extent of movement in
winter in southeastern and northwestern bobcat populations may be the more
severe winter weather in the latter region, which may cause bobcats to restrict
their movements to certain areas.