Behavioral ecology of time allocation in California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi): Microhabitat effects

• Published in: Journal of comparative psychology (1983) 1983-12, Vol.97 (4), p.283-291
• Main Authors: Leger, Daniel W, Owings, Donald H, Coss, Richard G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal; Animal and plant ecology; Animal Feeding Behavior; Animal Locomotion; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Ecological Factors; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Squirrels; Territoriality
• ISSN: 0735-7036; 1939-2087
• DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.97.4.283

The behavior of 34 California ground squirrels was measured in the field, and all behavioral samples occurring within the same 5 × 5 m quadrat of the 100 × 100 m study area were pooled. The number and proximity of burrows, rocks, and trees around the center of each quadrat were measured, and these microhabitat attributes were used as predictor variables in multiple regression analyses in an attempt to account for interquadrat variance in time allocated to common behaviors. For the 3 most common behaviors (forage, vigilance, and locomotion), 56-75% of the variance among quadrats was accounted for by the microhabitat variables. Each behavior was accounted for by a unique combination or ordering of the predictor variables. Testable hypotheses are offered as to the adaptive significance of the observed behavior-habitat correlations. Results support the contention that the utility of a behavior varies spatially according to the probability of encountering biologically important factors and that these probabilities are partly predictable by small-scale characteristics of the habitat. (68 ref)