Effects on Varying Locations of Food on the Feeding Habits of the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in Central Pennsylvania and Maryland

• Michael Howard

  Juniata College

  Author

• Nick Moschgat

  Juniata College

  Author

• Jake Safko

  Juniata College

  Author

Species of animals in different ecosystems have varying behaviors while feeding. The Eastern grey squirrel is a species of animal that is found in numerous different ecosystems across the United States. If a squirrel is given multiple locations of food with varying amounts of exposure to outside factors, the squirrel will go to the food source that has the most cover from the external factors. The squirrels had a preference to the feeding locations that were higher in the tree. Very rarely did the squirrel choose the peanut that was located at the base of the tree. The peanuts up in the tree on the branch, and the peanut up in the tree by the trunk gave the squirrel more protection for the possibility of being attacked while eating. The elevation gave the squirrel an escape from ground predators along with being able to hide in the foliage of the tree from predators that might come from above. Being able to know the feeding behaviors of animals allows researchers to better know how to research different species of animals in the future, along with gaining knowledge on how trophic levels of the ecosystem affects the food chain.

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