Avoidance Response of Pocket Gophers ( Thomomys Talpoides ) to Mustelid Anal Gland Compounds

Several species of gophers in the family Geomyidae inflict feeding damage to agricultural and forest crops in North America. These fossorial rodents inhabit burrow systems and are seldom active above ground. The northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) is a persistent problem in the fruit-growing regions of British Columbia, Canada (Anderson, 1980; Sullivan et al., 1985) and Washington and Oregon of the U.S.A. Similar feeding attacks by the fossorial vole (Microtus pinetorum) also occur in orchards of the eastern United States and Canada (Byers et al., 1976; Davis, 1976). These herbivorous rodents feed on the bark, vascular tissues, and roots of orchard trees, which may result in reduced growth and yield or even direct mortality from girdling. Similar feeding damage by pocket gophers to coniferous seedlings in areas of reforestation is considered a major problem to regeneration of western forests (Barnes, 1973; Barnes et al., 1982; Crouch, 1982).