Summary
A 12-week experimental study on the responses of home range size and population density of eastern chipmunks, Tamias striatus, to perturbations in food resources was conducted at the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology in Pennsylvania. The study involved a total of 97 animals and 1,036 captures. Home ranges were determined for all animals marked and captured four or more times. Mean home ranges were calculated for three different experimental periods; a before-seeding period, a seeding period, during which an essentially unlimited supply of a preferred food (sunflower seeds) was available, and a post-seeding period when all seeds were withdrawn. Home ranges during the seeding period contracted in response to the food source supplied in seed trays distributed throughout the plot. The differences between the before and during mean home ranges was significant (P<0.05). Home ranges subsequently expanded after removal of the seeds. The population density also increased over 50% during the seeding period, both in response to the abundant food source and the contraction of resident home ranges. The density subsequently declined to its initial level in the post-seeding period. The replacement of home ranges of chipmunks which died during the study by the establishment of new, similar home ranges by immigrants, and the expansion of existing home ranges by residents into the vacated areas was also observed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allen, E.: The habits and life history of the eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus lysteri. Bull. N.Y. State Mus. 314, 1–122 (1938)
Blair, W.F.: Size of home range and notes on the life history of the woodland deer mouse and eastern chipmunk in northern Michigan. J. Mammal. 23, 27–36 (1942)
Broadbooks, H.E.: Home ranges and territorial behavior of the yellowpine chipmunk, Eutamias amoenus. J. Mammal. 51, 310–326 (1970)
Burt, W.H.: Territorial behavior and populations of some small mammals in southern Michigan. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan 45, 1–58 (1940)
Dunford, C.: Behavioral aspects of spatial organization in the chipmunk, Tamias striatus. Behaviour 36, 215–231 (1970)
Forbes, R.B.: Studies of the biology of Minnesota chipmunks. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 76, 290–308 (1966)
Forsyth, D.J., Smith, D.A.: Temporal variability in home ranges of eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) in a southeastern Ontario woodlot. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 90, 107–117 (1973)
Graybill, D.L.: Food resources and ingestion rates of Tamias striatus populations. Unpubl. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Pittsburgh (1970)
Hayne, D.W.: Calculation of size of home range. J. Mammal. 30, 1–18 (1949)
Hazard, E.B.: A field study of activity among squirrels (Sciuridae) in southern Michigan. Unpubl. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Michigan (1960)
Ickes, R.A.: Agonistic behavior and the use of space in the eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus. Unpubl. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Pittsburgh (1974)
Layne, J.N.: Homing behavior of chipmunks in central New York. J. Mammal. 38, 519–520 (1957)
McNab, B.K.: Bioenergetics and the determination of home range size. Amer. Naturalist 97, 133–140 (1963)
Manville, R.H.: A study of small mammal populations in northern Michigan. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan 73, 1–83 (1949)
Martinsen, D.L.: Temporal patterns in the home ranges of chipmunks (Eutamias). J. Mammal. 49, 83–91 (1968)
Morris, W.A.: The chipmunk as a predator of the adult yellow swallowtail butterfly. J. Mammal. 34, 510–511 (1953)
Seidel, D.R.: Homing in the eastern chipmunk. J. Mammal. 42, 256–257 (1961)
Smith, M.H.: Food as a limiting factor in the population ecology of Peromyscus polionotus (Wagner). Ann. Zool. Fennici 8, 109–112 (1971)
Smith, M.H., Boize, B.J., Gentry, J.B.: Validity of the center of activity concept. J. Mammal. 54, 747–749 (1973)
Sokal, R.R., Rohlf, F.J: Biometry, 776 p. San Francisco: Freeman 1969
Stickel, L.F.: A comparison of certain methods of measuring ranges of small mammals. J. Mammal. 35, 1–15 (1954)
Stickel, L.F.: Home range and travels, pp. 373–411. In: Biology of Peromyscus (Rodentia) (J.A. King, ed.), Spec. Publ. No. 2, Amer. Soc. Mammalogists (1968)
Tryon, C.A., Snyder, D.P.: Biology of the eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus: life tables, age distributions, and trends in population numbers. J. Mammal. 54, 145–168 (1973)
Wolfe, J.L.: A study of the behavior of the eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus. Unpubl. Ph.D. Thesis, Cornell University (1966a)
Wolfe, J.L.: Agonistic behavior and dominance relationships of the eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 76, 190–200 (1966b)
Wolfe, J.L.: Observations on alertness and exploratory behavior in the eastern chipmunk. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 80, 249–253 (1969)
Yerger, R.W.: Home range, territoriality, and population of the chipmunk in central New York. J. Mammal. 34, 448–458 (1953)
Yerger, R.W.: Life history notes on the eastern chipmunk, Tamias striatus lysteri (Richardson), in central New York. Amer. Midl. Naturalist 53, 312–323 (1955)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mares, M.A., Watson, M.D. & Lacher, T.E. Home range perturbations in Tamias striatus . Oecologia 25, 1–12 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00345029
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00345029