How habitat features shape ground squirrel (Urocitellus beldingi) navigation.

Inverted-U shape relationship between cortisol and learning in ground squirrels.

Adrenal hormones regulate glucose levels, responses to unpredictable stressors and modulate cognition. Glucocorticoids can have an inverted-U shape relationship with cognition, as very low or high levels impair, whereas moderate elevations facilitate, acquisition and retention of memories. To date these relationships have been tested with humans and rodents in laboratory settings rather than wi...

Species limits and integrated taxonomy of the Idaho ground squirrel (Urocitellus brunneus): genetic and ecological differentiation

Developmental and geographic variation in stress hormones in wild Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi).

Extensive research has been conducted on the role of glucocorticoids in regulating growth, mobilizing energy, responding to stressors and modulating learning and memory. However, little is known about the production of corticoids during early development in free-living animals, particularly during sensitive periods of acquisition of important behaviors. In a four-year study of Belding's ground ...

Effects of Prey Abundance on Breeding Season Diet of Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) Within an Unusual Prey Landscape

—A critical element of diet analysis is species adaptability to alternative prey sources. The breeding-season diet of Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) includes both mammalian and avian species, varies geographically, and is often dependent upon tree squirrels of the genera Sciurus and Tamiasciurus. We studied alternative prey sources of Northern Goshawks in the South Hills of south-centra...

Anthropogenic refugia ameliorate the severe climate-related decline of a montane mammal along its trailing edge

We conducted detailed resurveys of a montane mammal, Urocitellus beldingi, to examine the effects of climate change on persistence along the trailing edge of its range. Of 74 California sites where U. beldingi were historically recorded (1902-1966), 42 per cent were extirpated, with no evidence for colonization of previously unoccupied sites. Increases in both precipitation and temperature pred...