Positional behavior of Siberian chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus) in captivity

Abstract

Arboreal and semi-arboreal mammals have remarkably diverse positional behavior and associated morpho-functional adaptations related to the threedimensional nature of their arboreal habitat. In this context, we investigated the positional behavior of captive Siberian chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus), small bodied semi-arboreal sciurids, in an aviary-type wiremesh cage containing both terrestrial and arboreal supports. We sampled four adult individuals during a five-month period using focal animal sampling every 30 s. Results showed that animals preferred 8-10 cm horizontal supports and always avoided vertical supports. Locomotion occurred on both terrestrial and 8-10 cm arboreal supports whereas postural behavior occurred primarily on 8-10 cm arboreal supports. Quadrupedal walk dominated during locomotion, and occurred primarily on terrestrial horizontal supports, as is observed for other squirrels. The predominance of quadrupedal locomotion is consistent with the postcranial morphology of chipmunks. In contrast, clawed locomotion occurred on wire mesh and on >13 cm arboreal vertical supports. Finally, pronograde and orthograde sitting, both on 8-10 cm arboreal supports and on terrestrial supports, were the predominant postures, implying general predisposition to selection of stable postures on stable supports for food item manipulation and ingestion.

Arboreal locomotor and postural behaviour of European red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris L.) in northern Greece

“…The high leaping rates of the temperate larger flying squirrel Petaurista petaurista may in part confirm our assumptions, but they could also be related to gliding habits (Stafford et al 2003). However, observations of smaller temperate arboreal species in captivity do indicate much lower leaping frequencies, although this may be an artifact of the captive environment (Essner 2007;Youlatos et al 2008). A detailed study of temperate squirrel species in the wild will certainly elucidate these aspects of their behaviour.…”

“…In fact, such clawed locomotion is accomplished through the use of the relatively long forelimbs and the powerful flexing ability of the forearm and shoulder muscles, which support and pull the body upwards (Cartmill 1974;Bock and Winkler 1978;Stalheim-Smith 1989;Thorington and Thorington 1989). For physiological and biomechanical reasons related to body mass, this action is more efficient in smaller species than in larger ones (Cartmill 1974;Bock and Winkler 1978;Dial 2003) as demonstrated by the high rates of claw climbing by both tropical and temperate small arboreal and semi-terrestrial squirrels (Youlatos 1999;Essner 2007;Youlatos et al 2008). In tropical forests, claw climbing could be mainly related to frequent bark gleaning and sap feeding (Thorington and Thorington 1989;Emmons and Feer 1990;Youlatos, personal observation).…”

“…In this case, where multiple individuals are to be compared in multiple interdependent categorical variables, multivariate tests can be used to calculate the significance of the differences. In our study, in which the aim was to test whether sets of observations within a group were more similar to each other than to sets of observations of different groups, Wilk's lambda (k) was the preferred test (Dagosto 1994;Youlatos et al 2008). Wilk's lambda is a multivariate test that estimates unexplained variance, and its advantage lies in the fact that it takes the effects among the tested variables into account.…”

“…Detailed data on the positional behaviour of arboreal squirrels are relatively limited but they do suggest considerable diversity: small-bodied species (\200 g) tend to engage in extensive clawed locomotion and frequently use large vertical supports in the lower parts of the forest (Youlatos 1999;Essner 2007;Youlatos et al 2008). In contrast, larger species ([300 g) engage more frequently in quadrupedalism and leaping, mainly using smaller horizontal supports (Garber and Sussman 1984;Youlatos 1999;Stafford et al 2003;Essner 2007).…”

Bipedal Behaviour in Olive Baboons: Infants versus Adults in a Captive Environment

“…Behavioural studies (in the broad sense) of animals in a captive environment are more and more frequent and can be a very useful complement to studies in the wild, given the many limitations due to problems of access to the primates (see D'Août and Vereecke [2011] for a review). Their usefulness has been proven for small mammals [Youlatos et al, 2008] including primates [Zimbler-Delorenzo and Stone, 2011] as well as larger species, for a wide range of purposes (e.g. see McGrew [2001, 2002a, b] and Putt [2009] on bipedalism, Meguerditchian and Vauclair [2009] and Fagot and Bonté [2010] on cognition), although each has its own limitations.…”