The Vigilant Life of Eastern Chipmunks
Despite common belief, being tiny and cute is not always an advantage. For most species, such as chipmunks, this means they are considered prey for various predators. As a consequence, chipmunks spend the majority of their lifetime attempting to avoid predators by being observant of their surroundings. A paper recently published in Behaviour by Jeanne Clermont and her colleagues analyzes how eastern chipmunks adjust their vigilance levels according to the physical and social effects of their environment.
To increase survival rates, chipmunks have to balance resource acquisition and predator avoidance; therefore, modulating the level of risk with environmental factors should influence the expression of anti-predator behaviors. Based upon this idea, the research team predicted that chipmunks should be more vigilant when they are foraging in open habitats and high wind intensity. Additionally, the researchers expected for vigilance to increase if alarm calls were heard, and when living under a high level of neighbor density. …show more content…
They mimicked various situations associated with different levels of risk by conducting playback experiments by using either the sounds of chipmunk alarm calls, or neutral sounds. Then, they evaluated the level of vigilance of the chipmunks with varying wind intensities, and the effects of open versus sheltered habitats.
They found that chipmunks showed higher levels of vigilance when foraging in more open habitats with high neighbor density, under high wind conditions, and when they heard alarm calls. These findings support the idea that chipmunks do alter anti-predator behaviors in high-risk
Despite common belief, being tiny and cute is not always an advantage. For most species, such as chipmunks, this means they are considered prey for various predators. As a consequence, chipmunks spend the majority of their lifetime attempting to avoid predators by being observant of their surroundings. A paper recently published in Behaviour by Jeanne Clermont and her colleagues analyzes how eastern chipmunks adjust their vigilance levels according to the physical and social effects of their environment.
To increase survival rates, chipmunks have to balance resource acquisition and predator avoidance; therefore, modulating the level of risk with environmental factors should influence the expression of anti-predator behaviors. Based upon this idea, the research team predicted that chipmunks should be more vigilant when they are foraging in open habitats and high wind intensity. Additionally, the researchers expected for vigilance to increase if alarm calls were heard, and when living under a high level of neighbor density. …show more content…
They mimicked various situations associated with different levels of risk by conducting playback experiments by using either the sounds of chipmunk alarm calls, or neutral sounds. Then, they evaluated the level of vigilance of the chipmunks with varying wind intensities, and the effects of open versus sheltered habitats.
They found that chipmunks showed higher levels of vigilance when foraging in more open habitats with high neighbor density, under high wind conditions, and when they heard alarm calls. These findings support the idea that chipmunks do alter anti-predator behaviors in high-risk