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Overcast, humidity 79%, Wind from the SW 18 km/hr, 9 degrees Celsius
April 16, 2018
I will continue counting cone totals in the red squirrel midden and cones on conifer trees within a 20 meter radius of the squirrel’s central midden. My hpothesis is that a red squirrel in an urban habitat has the same amount of conifer cones within a 20 meter radius and the same amount of cones stashed in his winter midden as a red squirrel has in the forest.
My field study is a continuation of Donald Paul Streubels phd thesis “Food storing and related behavior of red squirrels in Interior Alaska” May, 1968.
Because Streubel’s study was done in a forest environment I will be modifying my study to the conifer trees within an urban environment, as such, I will be focusing on the 16 mature conifer cone producing trees within a 40 diameter of the wood pile which is the red squirrel’s midden. I will count the cones dropped from each tree to an extension of 2 meters past the longest branch and all the cones under the tree as well as all of the cones still on the trees. I will continue counting the cones in the woodpile as I move the wood to my wood shed. I am finding eaten cones, whole opened cones, closed cones, along with cones buried under the wood pallets to a depth of 10 cm. and all will be included in the count.
My prediction is that a red squirrel choses a central midden in an urban environment that equals his wild counterpart’s midden in the forest in terms of a 20 meter accessiblilty to mature conifer cone producing trees and conifer cones as well as storing the same amount of conifer cones required for winter survival in his central midden.
Response Variable: Total number of cones in the red squirrel’s central midden. Categorical
Predictor Variable: Number of cones underneath the conifer trees and on the conifer trees within a 20 meter radius of the red squirrel midden. Continuous
Experimental Design: Logistic Regression
Midden: a food stash containing conifer cones along with piles of scales from cones that have already been eaten by the squirrel.
