Behavioral Patterns in Belding's Squirrels

Paper Summary:

This paper details the various results between male and female Belding squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi) when free-living populations were subjected to experimental manipulation by the provision of food. In free-living and un-manipulated populations, 100% of Belding squirrel males disperse by the time they become active breeders. In contrast, their female counterparts breed very close to their birth sites with only 8% exhibiting natal dispersion. This paper details the varying results of the squirrel's behavior when their environment had been provided with food, which resulted in the female dispersal rate to significantly increase from 8% to 40%.

From the Paper:

"Despite the apparent sagacity of the above hypothesis, it fails to explain in cost-benefit analysis fashion why female S. beldingi pass up the increased and more accessible survival resources in exchange for other marginally tangible ones. Another datum that might yield additional insight is the fact that dispersing females were significantly fatter than non-provisioned conspecifics of the same age. This indicates that perhaps the dispersing females had reached a caloric saturation point at which marginal increases in calories were far outweighed by the exponential increase in breeding resources available if the animal dispersed. Further evidence that animals make a dispersal/non-dispersal decision is given by a study on the common lizard. This study indicates that lizards disperse or not depending on the survival probability of their parents, viz. the owners of the natal territory."

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