Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: all
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The plains spotted skunk (Spilogale interrupta) is a small carnivore native to central North America that has experienced significant population reductions, and there is a lack of information about the species that could inform conservation efforts. Our study aimed to address knowledge gaps about the distribution and habitat associations of the species in South Dakota using species distribution modeling. We used species location data collected from state natural resource managers, trappers, and members of hunting and wildlife social groups, environmental predictors, and six predictive modeling algorithms (i.e., artificial neural networks, artificial classification tree analysis, generalized boosting models, maximum entropy, multivariate adaptive regression splines, and random forests) to develop climate and landcover ensemble distribution models. The most important climate and landcover predictors were mean temperature diurnal range and proportion of area classified as pasture. Ensemble model concordance identified approximately 31,300 km² of potential plains spotted skunk habitat primarily in eastern South Dakota and between the watersheds of the Missouri and James River. Our results offer insights that can guide conservation efforts and inform effective management strategies for conserving plains spotted skunk populations in the northern Great Plains. The promotion of low-intensity agricultural practices, such as maintaining pastures, farm buildings, and fences rows and the management of woodland encroachment may improve habitat suitability and facilitate the recovery of plains spotted skunks in the region.