| abstract |
I conducted this research over a period of eight weeks from June to July of 2021 at Drew
University and the Great Swamp Watershed Association's Conservation Management Area
(GSWA-CMA). These two locations were used due to the assumption that the resident animals
on Drew University's campus experience a high amount of human interaction, while the resident
animals at the GSWA-CMA experience a lower amount of human interaction. It was
hypothesized that the chipmunks caught at Drew University's campus would be less stressed on
average than the GSWA-CMA chipmunks due to their increased human interaction, which
would lead to habituation associated with reduced stress responses. In order to test this
hypothesis, I used two different tests – a hanging mesh bag test and a hole board test. From those
two tests, eight different behaviors were analyzed: amount of time immobile, latency to enter the
hole board test, scanning, grooming, locomotion, rearing/jumping/climbing, head-dipping, and
time spent in the periphery of the hole board test.
My hypothesis was statistically significantly supported by most the tests I conducted. I
used the hanging mesh bag test to see whether the chipmunks exhibited a flight response, which
is associated with increased stress levels. I used the hole board test to observe the stress
associated with a novel environment using freeze responses and exploratory behaviors as
measurable units by testing how long their latency was to enter the test, analyzing their high or
low stress behavioral responses, and how much time they spent in the periphery versus the center
of the test apparatus. From these tests, I found that the GSWA-CMA chipmunks spent more time
exhibiting behaviors associated with high stress; they spent more time moving in the hanging
mesh bag test (thus exhibiting a flight response), spent more time engaging in high stress and
exploratory behaviors (locomotion, rearing/jumping/climbing, and head dipping), spent less time
engaging in low stress behaviors (grooming and scanning), and spent more time in the periphery
of the hole board test as a means of anti-predation protection. There is also evidence of
habituation over time from a GSWA-CMA chipmunk that was captured six separate times, as
she went from moving often in the hanging mesh bag test, exhibiting a stressful flight response,
to slowly becoming completely immobile by her third capture, which is a sign of habituation.
This research is unique and important, as research focusing on chipmunks and
urbanization has been steadily increasing over time. My project will build on that growing
amount of published knowledge by sharing valuable information about how small mammals are
affected by human interaction, which can be explored further to determine whether human
interaction is negatively affecting their ability to thrive in a world that is constantly urbanizing.
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