BIOS 35502-01: Practicum in Field Environmental Biology Potential Changes of Seed Predation of Tamias striatus

Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) is seed predator that has the ability to affect the diversity and abundance of certain tree species in a forest. This study tested the seed preference of eastern chipmunks on the border of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan at University of Notre Environmental Research Center. Cafeteria style feeding trials were done in a laboratory to test the preference of eastern chipmunks between five seed species. The five seed species used in this study was balsam fir, pin cherry, hazelnut, sugar maple and red maple. Fourteen trials were run on captured eastern chipmunks. A Kruskal-Wallis statistical test was run in order to find significance of preferred seeds. The results observed were significant (p=0.00027378, df= 4) in that eastern chipmunks prefer both hazelnut and sugar maple while they avoid balsam fir and red maple. There were three seed species that showed a significant difference which are sugar maple and balsam fir (p=0.01774961), hazelnut and red maple (p=0.02103917), and red maple and sugar maple (p=0.00123917). Eastern chipmunks prefer hazelnut and sugar maple seeds this will probably cause a negative effect on the hazelnut and sugar maple trees.