Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

04 May, 07 AM - 11 May, 03 AM

Specific Details Jill Mateo has suggested sites for filming Belding's ground squirrels near SNARL, Lee Vining Campground and Mono County Park and has indicated that this speces and chipmunks and golden mantled ground squirrels are available at SNARL, but she did not indicate specific locations. General Statement Between March and August 2006, I will undertake a field trip to gather data for a comparative study of vigilance behavior. My objectives are to obtain video recordings of foraging and locomotion in as many species of the rodent family Sciuridae (tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, prairie dogs and marmots) as possible throughout the western United States and Canada. In addition, I hope to examine selected species under conditions that vary in visual environment (e.g., size and complexity of visual field, light levels, barriers to vision) and in familiarity (e.g., presence of a novel object). Finally, I will opportunistically record vigilance on other species of reptiles, birds and mammals. The method will involve simply recording individuals encountered during field excursions. No animals will need to be captured or handled. Depending on the situation (e.g., habituation of animals to humans or vehicles), I may need to use a blind or film from a vehicle to conceal movements of the observer during recording. I will avoid repeated filming of the same individual by changing locations with the distance depending on the social organization of the species. If necessary and where permitted, animals may be attracted to specific locations by small amounts of supplementary food. Following filming, when possible, I may place an object of known size in the location where the animal was filmed as a reference for size. In selected locations where it would not interfere with ongoing research or the public, I may walk toward foraging animals, place unfamiliar objects such as a stuffed animal near such food sources or present mild predatory stimuli such as a hawk silhouette sliding on a line to examine the effects of predation threat. I assume that such activities may be permitted at research-oriented field stations but not in national parks. Background to the project: Vigilance behavior is usually recognized by the cessation of movement and raising of the head in foraging animals. Previous work in our laboratory indicates that pauses during intermittent locomotion of chipmunks serve a similar function for moving animals. There has been little research on intermittent locomotion from a vigilance perspective or on vigilance during activities other than foraging. Studies of the effects of group size on vigilance are numerous, but studies of how the duration and rate of scanning relates to the visual environment are much rarer. I am in the process of developing a theoretical framework to address the effect of the visual environment on temporal organization of scanning and the alternative, less-vigilant activities that occur between bouts of scanning. Many vigilance movements are too rapid to be measured using a stopwatch, so the process involves obtaining digital video recordings. Subsequently, these recordings are subjected to a frame-by-frame analysis using the Noldus Observer system to determine precise durations and frequencies of occurrence of the different components.

Visit #9396 @Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

Approved

Under Project # 6417 | Research

Vigilance, Foraging and Locomotion in Sciurid Rodents

faculty - McGill University

Reservation Members(s)

Donald Kramer May 4 - 11, 2006 (8 days)
Donald Kramer May 4 - 11, 2006 (8 days)

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Dorm 2 May 4 - 11, 2006