Chipmunks

Tamias spp.

Taxonomy and

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

Subfamily: Xerinae

Genus: Tamias

Species: striatus

Nomenclature:

-Eukaryotic and multicellular

-Backbone

-Rodents

-Powerful incisor teeth to gnaw on food

-similar to mammals, rodents have fur, tails, and give birth (not lay eggs)

Genus: Tamias, meaning “treasurer”

Species: striatus, meaning “Furrowed”

Habiting the forests of eastern North America

-West of the Mississippi

Most chipmunks are small and striped

-internal cheek pouches for food

-eat mainly seeds, berries, and tender plants

General Characteristics:

-predominate eyes and ears

-active only during the day

-not true hibernators, but their body temperature drops significantly in winter

-reproduce sexually

Chipmunk Experiment: Exploration vs. Exploitation (Phenomenon)

Overview of experiment:

-Authors: Donald L. Kramer, Daniel M. Weary

-Wanted to test when food went scarce, how chipmunks would react

-5 chipmunks used

-2 hour research period for all trials

Results:

Conclusion:

Chipmunks and exploration have a direct relationship

-Was seed density was increased, time exploring and seed collecting also increased (.

-When seed density was scarce, time exploring increased, but they would collect less seeds.

-Chipmunks would alter their travel paths more than the speed of the trip, for seeds (reinforcement idea).

References:

ITS, “Tamias striatus”, 8 Feb. 2023, https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180188#null

Missouri Department of Conservation, “Eastern Chipmunk”,https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/eastern-chipmunk (photo 1)

Mass Audubon, “Chipmunks”, https://www.massaudubon.org/learn/nature-wildlife/mammals/chipmunks, (photo 2)

Prescott, Jacques, “The Eastern Chipmunk, A Local Favorite”, 10 Aug, 2018, https://tremblantexpress.com/en/le-tamia-raye-un-petit-suisse-bien-de-chez-nous/

Kramer, Donald L., Daniel M. Weary, 1991, “Exploration versus exploitation: a field study of time allocation to environmental tracking by foraging chipmunks” Animal Behaviour 41: 443-449

Musser, Guy, 2023. “Chipmunk | Diet, Habitat & Facts” Encyclopedia Briannica, Jan 10, 2023 at https://www.britannica.com/animal/chipmunk

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