Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

30 Jul, 01 PM - 15 Aug, 01 PM

Extensive surveys of California alpine fauna have revealed heterogeneous shifts in species distributions over the last century. The alpine chipmunk, T. alpinus, has seen its altitudinal range decrease in range size, with a significant upward contraction of its lower elevational range limit. In contrast, the lodgepole chipmunk, T. speciosus, has maintained the majority of its historical range5 Despite these differences, these species overlap in substantial portions of their distributions; individuals of each species often co-occur at the same locality and occupy overlapping home ranges. Previous work in the Lacey Lab has demonstrated that T. alpinus exhibits greater baseline stress responses to disturbance than T. speciosus7 and exhibits a narrower range of variation in daily activity budgets, suggesting that the former species is generally less variable in its responses to environmental conditions. These interspecific differences in phenotypic response in otherwise ecologically similar species provide a compelling system through which to study adaptive importance of individual behavioral plasticity. To quantify interspecific differences in response to novel environments, I have completed open-arena tests for free living T. speciosus and T. alpinus. Preliminary analyses of the resulting data reveal pronounced differences in response to these trials (e.g., latency to enter the arena, Fig. 1), suggesting significant interspecific differences in response to novel situations. Specifically, individual T. alpinus appear to be less willing to engage with unfamiliar spaces, which may have significant fitness consequences in a changing environment. To build upon these findings, the currently propodrf eotk seeks to investigate the physiological constraints to which each species is subject, with emphasis on the thermal environment.

Visit #71664 @Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

Approved

Under Project # 46588 | Research

Behavior, Ecology, and Physiology of Sierra Nevada Chipmunks

graduate_student - University of California, Berkeley

Reservation Members(s)

Kwasi Wrensford Jul 30 - Aug 15, 2021 (17 days)
Group of 3 Undergraduate Student Jul 30 - Aug 15, 2021 (17 days)

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Laboratory space (monthly) 1 Jul 30 - Aug 15, 2021
Lodging (monthly first person) 1 Jul 30 - Aug 15, 2021
Lodging (monthly additional person) 3 Jul 30 - Aug 15, 2021