Surveying for Spotted Skunks-20160928 1602-1_57232532

This webinar is part of the Virginia Master Naturalist Continuing Education series.

Description: This webinar will introduce you to a rare and intriguing local small carnivore, the eastern spotted skunk, and will share current research on this species. It will cover spotted skunk natural history, why more research is important, and what has been found so far. Additionally, the spotted skunk research group would like to invite the Virginia Master Naturalists to participate in the initiation of a statewide citizen science spotted skunk survey. The goals of this survey are to determine the current spotted skunk range in Virginia, a question that has never been addressed in this region, and to develop a long term monitoring protocol. This webinar will provide information on how volunteers can participate, what will be required of participants, and expected outcomes of this research. The team is excited to be collaborating with the VMN program and is looking forward to hearing your thoughts during the webinar.

Presenter: Emily Thorne is a Master's student in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech.  Her graduate research focuses on the spatial distribution and habitat selection of eastern spotted skunks (Spilogale putorius) and she hopes to expand this research to include spotted skunk reproduction and genetics. 

This webinar was presented on 28 September 2016.