BRS Kwasi Wrensford: Behavioral Responses to Climate Change in Chipmunks of the Sierra Nevada

Zoom webinar link for remote attendees:

https://ubc.zoom.us/j/66811828698?pwd=dHBQUzI3aWxKaGIyTEtRQURRRzJpQT09

Passcode: 202209

host: Kaitlyn Gaynor

Title: Behavioral Responses to Climate Change in Chipmunks of the Sierra Nevada

Abstract:

Anthropogenic climate change is drastically affecting the lives of animals across the planet, leading many of them to shift their ranges to higher latitudes or elevations. However, these range shifts vary extensively in  presence and magnitude, and the individual and population level mechanisms driving these range shifts remain unclear for many species. As their habitats are modified, how individuals respond to novel conditions will have critical implications for shaping population and species level responses to climate. Over the past century, alpine chipmunks (T. alpinus) in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains of California have experienced a significant upward contraction of their elevational range; in contrast, the partially sympatric lodgepole chipmunk (T. speciosus) has not undergone any change. To understand the mechanisms underlying these divergent responses, we examine potential individual differences in behavioral response to novelty and quantify population-level differences in demography across species. Here, we present the results of a multi-year mark-recapture study, focusing on the critical demographic characteristics of body condition, reproductive output, and survival in our two focal species. Alongside these surveys, we also conducted open-field test behavioral assays to assess boldness/exploration behavior and activity. Our results seem to support that the generalist, climate-resilient T. speciosus has more robust populations and more flexible behavior than the specialist, climate-sensitive T. alpinus, but questions remain about the relative contribution of individual variation compared to extrinsic environmental factors in species range shifts.