SOUTHEASTERN NATURALIST 2008 7(2):289–300 Mammalian Predator Distribution Around a Transmission Line Matthew B. Smith 1,* , David A. Aborn 1 , Timothy J. Gaudin 1 , and John C. Tucker 1 Abstract - The effects of a transmission line right-of-way (TROW) on the distri- butions of mammalian predators were investigated by placement of track plates at specific locations. A total of 50 tracks were detected. The large-bodied carnivores exhibited a strong preference for the TROW (χ 2 = 8.652, 2 df, p = 0.013). In con- trast, the small-bodied predators were distributed more uniformly, exhibiting no significant differences in their distributions (χ 2 = 1.927, 2 df, p = 0.382). The TROW likely facilitates the travel of the large-bodied carnivores by offering an area that is relatively free from obstruction. The higher-than-expected occurrence of the small- bodied predators in the TROW may have been due to temporal variations caused by dietary enhancements available at particular times of the year. Introduction The loss and further fragmentation of natural habitat is consistently cited as the primary factor contributing to the loss and decline of biological diver- sity (Crooks 2002, Henle et al. 2004). A substantial amount of work has been performed on the effects of habitat fragmentation on mammalian carnivores because of their low population densities and relatively large home ranges (Crooks 2002, Gittleman and Gompper 2005). However, because carnivores are composed of a diverse group that varies greatly in physical attributes, ecology, and behavior, predicting their distributions in fragmented landscapes is often difficult (Crooks 2002). Body size may provide a baseline upon which managerial decisions can be made when questions arise as to the distributions of mammalian predators in fragmented habitats. Crooks (2002) reported that body size differences partially accounted for habitat selection among mammalian carnivores in landscapes fragmented by urbanization, where sen- sitivity increased as body mass increased. Conversely in habitat fragmented by agriculture, Gehring and Swihart (2003) reported that sensitivity to open spaces (e.g., crop fields) decreased as body mass increased. Knight and Kawashima (1993) estimated that there were >0.5 million km of transmission line right-of-ways (TROW) in the United States, alter- ing some 2.1 million ha of natural habitat. Because of this, TROWs could have great effects on vertebrate communities, especially where forests are fragmented. Even though TROWs are ubiquitous throughout our landscapes in the South (Graham 2002), only a few studies have investigated the effects 1 Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN 37403. * Corresponding author - Matthew-Smith@utc.edu.