The development of alarm-call response behaviour in free-living juvenile Belding's ground squirrels

Mateo, Jill M.

doi:10.1006/anbe.1996.0192

Cited by 93 publications

(161 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

157

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…I measured the corticoids of 17 male and 18 female juveniles from 9 litters born to mothers collected at Mono County Park and Lundy Canyon. Sampling occurred once every 3 days, starting at 26 days of age, the approximate age at which juveniles would normally emerge above-ground, and continued for 2 weeks until the age at which alarm-call responses are well formed (Mateo, 1996). Juveniles were individually marked with ear tags.…”

Section: Captive Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi) provide an ideal opportunity for studying the effects of stress on learning during early development, because much is known about the sources of stress young animals can encounter. S. beldingi are preyed upon by aerial and terrestrial predators which are signaled by whistle and trill alarm calls, respectively, each of which elicits a specific evasive response by listeners (Sherman, 1985;Mateo, 1996). Juvenile S. beldingi learn to respond appropriately to these two alarm calls during the first 5 days after initial emergence from natal burrows.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Juvenile S. beldingi learn to respond appropriately to these two alarm calls during the first 5 days after initial emergence from natal burrows. This rapid learning of appropriate responses is important because up to 30% of juveniles disappear during the first 2 weeks after emerging aboveground at about 1-month of age, presumably due to predation (Mateo, 1996). Predation can account for up to 60% of juvenile S. beldingi mortality (Sherman and Morton, 1984; personal observation) and overwinter survival in some ground squirrels depends on the accumulation of body fat prior to hibernation (Murie and Boag, 1984), thus creating a trade-off between foraging and vigilance (see also Bachman, 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Predation can account for up to 60% of juvenile S. beldingi mortality (Sherman and Morton, 1984; personal observation) and overwinter survival in some ground squirrels depends on the accumulation of body fat prior to hibernation (Murie and Boag, 1984), thus creating a trade-off between foraging and vigilance (see also Bachman, 1993). In addition to threats from predators, newly emergent juveniles are vulnerable to infanticide by adults and are in the process of becoming nutritionally independent (Sherman, 1982;Mateo, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mateo, unpublished data) to determine if juvenile corticoid levels also vary by population as well as by age. In addition, any age-related changes in cortisol could simply be due to stressors experienced by all young, independent of their particular population, such as exposure to novel visual, olfactory and auditory stimuli when first emerging aboveground (Mateo, 1996). I therefore monitored developmental variation in cortisol in captive-born laboratory-housed juveniles which experienced no changes in their exposure to stimuli or in their physical or social environments around the age of emergence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

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

Mateo

2006

Hormones and Behavior

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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 squirrels, Spermophilus beldingi, a non-invasive assay of glucocorticoids was used to quantify age and population differences among juveniles from three California locations. Fecal-cortisol metabolites are elevated during a short period when juveniles first emerge aboveground from their natal burrows at about 4 weeks of age. This period of cortisol elevation coincides with when young are learning survival behaviors such as anti-predator responses and foraging strategies. Population differences in juvenile cortisol levels, which may reflect local variation in habitat quality and predator environments, were not evident until 2 weeks after emergence. Elevated cortisol at the age of emergence was also observed in juveniles born and reared in captivity without exposure to typical stressors that occur around the age of emergence. These results indicate that corticoids are regulated during early development, and the possible functions of age-related corticoid levels are discussed, including mobilization of glucose for natal emergence and later facilitation of growth and energy storage during the short summer before hibernation. In some species, elevated corticoids can also facilitate learning and memory, and current work is exploring whether the higher cortisol observed in all three S. beldingi populations just after emergence function to promote rapid acquisition of survival behaviors.

show abstract

Section: Captive Animalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

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

Mateo

2006

Hormones and Behavior

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Age differences and developmental trends in alarm peep responses by squirrel monkeys ( Saimiri sciureus )

McCowan

Franceschini

Vicino

2000

American J Primatol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Alarm calls can code for different classes of predators or different types of predatory threat. Acoustic information can also encode the urgency of threat through variations in acoustic features within specific alarm call types. Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) produce an alarm call, known as the alarm peep, in highly threatening situations. Infant squirrel monkeys appear to have an innate predisposition to respond to alarm peeps but require experience to associate alarm peeps with the appropriate type of predatory threat [Herzog & Hopf, American Journal of Primatology 7:99–106, 1984]. Little is known about age‐related differences in the type or frequency of response to alarm peeps, or the development of alarm peep response in infants. The purpose of this study was to test experimentally the response strategies of different age classes of squirrel monkey to the playback of alarm peeps that were produced by infants, juveniles, or adults. Results suggest that infants, juveniles, and female subadults respond more frequently to alarm peeps than do adult females. Infant squirrel monkeys showed different behavioral strategies in response to alarm peeps as a function of age. Adult females differentiate between infant and adult alarm peeps by responding more frequently to the alarm peeps of adult females. These data demonstrate that squirrel monkeys use acoustic information to discern when to respond to the alarm peeps from conspecifics, and that infants gradually develop an adult‐like response to alarm peeps over the first year of development. Am. J. Primatol. 53:19–31, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

show abstract

The Cognitive Abilities of Wild Animals

Mehrkam¹

2019

Zoo Animal Learning and Training

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The development of alarm-call response behaviour in free-living juvenile Belding's ground squirrels

Cited by 93 publications

References 59 publications

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

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

Age differences and developmental trends in alarm peep responses by squirrel monkeys ( Saimiri sciureus )

The Cognitive Abilities of Wild Animals

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About