Benson,Carrera,Chen,Mohr,1

NaxCarrera:Green
PheobeBenson:Red
RubyChen:Purple
MelissaMohr:Blue
Biology11H
Prof.Rodriguez
Sep.23,2016

TheRelationshipBetweenTheCaliforniaGroundSquirreland
TheEasternGraySquirrel
Whatsthebigpicture?
CaliforniaGroundSquirrelsarenativespeciesofCaliforniawhileEasternGraySquirrels
arenativetoEasternNorthAmerica.Theyhavesimilarfoodresourcesandhabitatrequirements
bothofthemconsumenuts,fruitsandseedsandbothliveinambienttemperatureandforests,but
canalsobefoundinyards,gardens,andcityparkstheylivewherevertherearelarge,
deciduoustrees.AfterthehugemigrationofEasternGraySquirrels,theCaliforniaGround
Squirrelsarethreatenedbecauseofthesharingfoodresources.

Whatdidyoufindinyourresearch?
CaliforniaGroundSquirrelsandEasternGraySquirrelsbothliveinambienttemperature
andwherevertherearetrees.Californiagroundsquirrelsburrowsitselfintothegroundcreatinga
3seriesoftunnelsaround4incheswidetolivein.(UniversityofCaliforniaAgricultureand
NaturalResources)Theymostlycanbefoundinplains,smallmeadows,treecoveredhillsides,
rockyoutcropsandgranitetaluses.(Linzey,A.V.,R.Timm,S.lvarezCastaedaT.,I.
CastroArellano,andT.Lacher.)
SimilarlytotheCaliforniaGroundSquirrel,theEasternGraySquirrelsprefertoliveina
mixedforestthathaveexcessiveamountsofbranchesandleavesbecausethiskindof
environmentallowsthemtotravelandfindprotectioneasier.(Lawniczak,M.)Also,theyfind

Benson,Carrera,Chen,Mohr,2

foodinmixedforesteasilybecausetheirmainsourceoffoodcomesfromtrees,especially
certaintreesthatstillproducefruitsduringwinter.Themainfoodsforsquirrelsareseedsand
nutswithacorns,beechnuts,butternuts,andhickorynutsprovidingthemainstayoftheautumn
andwinterdiet.Also,thebuds,flowers,andinnerbarkofallthesespecies,andothers,contribute
tothelatewinterandspringdiet.(Saunders,D.A.)

Hypothesis:
TheCaliforniaGroundSquirrelandtheEasternGraySquirrelconsumethesametypesof
resources,feastingoffofthefruitsandnutsoftrees.Also,theyhavealmostexactlythesame
predatorssuchasbirds,eagles,coyotesorfoxes.Allofthisshouldinevitablycausescompetition
forresourcesanddominance.Webelieveonespeciesofsquirrelwillprosperbecomingthe
dominantspeciesintheareabecauseoftheiradaptationstotheirexternalandinternal
environment.

Isthehypothesissupportedorrefuted?
Giventheinformation,wewereabletocometotheconclusionthatourhypothesisis
valid.ThebackgroundinformationpresentedisstatingthattheEasternGraySquirreldoes
interferewiththeCaliforniaGroundSquirrelmainlybecauseoftheircompetitionforresources,
suchasthefoodstheybothconsume,andthelivingspacetheysharebecausebothsquirrels
prefertoliveinareaswithtreesandleaves.Evidenceshowsthatthedominantsquirrelinthe
areawouldbetheEasternGraySquirrelbecauseoftheoverwhelmingamountofmigrating
squirrelsthatseemtobecomingfromtheEastCoastaswellastheirabilitytoadapttothe
environment.Becauseofthisevidence,weareassuredourhypothesisisaccurate.

Whydoyourfindingsmatter?Whatfutureresearchcanbedone?
Itisimportanttoknowandunderstandtheroleofsquirrelsintheenvironment.Squirrels
helpwiththeplantingofdifferenttreesinanassortmentofareas.TheGroundSquirrelandthe
EasternGreySquirrelconsumeavarietyofnuts,fruitsandseedsthatareimportanttohelpthe
ecosystemflourish.Byunderstandingthebehaviorofthesetwosquirrels,theabilitytopredict

Benson,Carrera,Chen,Mohr,3

andprotecttheecosystemincreases.BecausetheEasternGreySquirrelismoredominantdueto
itsinternalandexternaladaptations,researchersareabletobetteranticipatetrendsinthe
environment.Futureresearchsuchasstudyingthesespeciesindifferentlocationswillallowfor
asharpenedunderstanding.Improvedresearchandunderstandingofthesesquirrelsandtheirrole
intheenvironmentwillhelpproducebetter,morealignedresultswhenresearchinginthefuture.

WorksCited
Linzey,A.V.,R.Timm,S.lvarezCastaedaT.,I.CastroArellano,andT.Lacher."Support
the."OtospermophilusBeecheyi(CaliforniaGroundSquirrel).RedList,30June2008.Web.19
Sept.2016.
Lawniczak,M.2002."Sciuruscarolinensis"(Online),AnimalDiversityWeb.September18,
2016.
Saunders,D.A.Graysquirrel.2016.Web.19Sept.2016.
UniversityofCaliforniaAgricultureandNaturalResources."Habitat."GroundSquirrelsOld.
N.p.,n.d.Web.18Sept.2016.