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- Title
Caching behaviour of Red Squirrels Sciurus vulgaris under conditions of high food availability.
- Authors
RICE-OXLEY, SUSAN B.
- Abstract
BSTRACT Members of the genus Sciurus store seed when plentiful by scatterhoarding. Such caches are impossible to defend and vulnerable to both interspecific and intraspecific competitors. In view of the delicate position held by Red Squirrels Sciurus vulgaris L. in Britain it is of value to extend to this species studies of the methods whereby such competition is reduced. Caching behaviour in a population of Red Squirrels living in a protected reserve and receiving supplementary food was studied for 18 months. Two main aspects were investigated; their ability to find caches they had not made, and their efforts to reduce competition for caches they did make. Stapanian & Smith (1978) predicted that caches are made at an optimal density and that the entire 360d̀ arc around a resource is used. This study upheld this second prediction but not the first for the population of Red Squirrels in question. In addition, it is suggested that caching cannot be considered to be permanent under conditions of surplus food.
- Publication
Mammal Review, 1993, Vol 23, Issue 2, p93
- ISSN
0305-1838
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1365-2907.1993.tb00419.x