Positional behavior of Siberian chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus) in captivity |
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Authors: | Dionisios Youlatos Dimitra Ermioni Michael Katerina Tokalaki |
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Institution: | (1) School of Biology, Department of Zoology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece |
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Abstract: | Arboreal and semi-arboreal mammals have remarkably diverse positional behavior and associated morpho-functional adaptations
related to the three-dimensional 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 wire-mesh 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. |
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Keywords: | Tamias sibiricus Siberian chipmunk Locomotion Postures Positional behavior Squirrels |
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