Comparison of ponderosa pines as feed and nonfeed trees for abert squirrels

Twigs from five ponderosa pine trees (Pinus ponderosa) used by Abert squirrels (Sciurus aberti) as feed trees and five nonfeed trees were collected every 45 days and their monoterpenoid and nutrient content determined. Thet tests (unpaired observations) detected no significant difference in the level of monoterpenoids in the outer bark of feed (0.77%) and nonfeed (0.75%) trees. The same was true for inner bark of feed (0.10%) and nonfeed (0.16%) trees. Monoterpenoid levels in outer bark (0.75%) were significantly higher than inner bark (0.13%). The inner bark is what is eaten by Abert squirrels. Protein and other nutrients did not differ significantly between feed and nonfeed trees. However, both outer and inner bark were easier to remove from the woody portion of the feed tree twigs than those twigs collected from nonfeed trees. Therefore, due to the lack of differences in monoterpenoid and nutrient content between feed and nonfeed trees, we attributed the use of certain trees for use as feed trees to the ease of peeling and separating outer from inner bark.