Jessica Jahn

Urbanization and human disturbances have consequences for many animal species, including changes in diet and behavior. Some animals can adapt well to urbanized environments with behavior and diet adaptations, and these adaptations can be evaluated through various methods. In this study, we investigated variation in diets and urban-adapted behaviors of two species of small mammals: eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) and gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis). We determined anthropogenic food levels through stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen from hair samples and we quantified behavioral traits from recorded field trials including activity level and exploration. We found that there was a correlation between greater activity and greater human food consumption in gray squirrels. We also found that female squirrels and chipmunks had less variation in human food consumption than males and animals trapped at one urban site had more variation in the isotopes of both carbon and nitrogen. Our results suggest that more active animals consume more human food. The data also demonstrates that small mammals have variation in food consumption between males and females, and between different urban areas. Further research should continue gathering data about relationships between behavior and diet in urban animals and strive to include rural animals as controls.