Welcome to the interactive web schedule for the 2018 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference! For tips on how to navigate this site, visit the "Helpful Info" section. To return to the main Conference website, go to: www.midwestfw.org.
AUTHOR: Katherine Rexroad, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point
ABSTRACT: Animals use many forms of communication, and it is an important part of their behavior. Communication in the form of audible and ultrasonic calling is common for many rodent species. Ultrasonic calling has been documented in southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) in a lab setting, but attempts to record this activity in nature have been limited. In addition, the potential stimuli (conspecific vs. predator) eliciting an audible response is still unclear. There is evidence to suspect they could use low range calls as a predator avoidance technique because owls are one of their main predators and owls cannot hear below 12 kHz. In this study, we aimed to test whether southern flying squirrels would respond more to calls of other southern flying squirrels or to owl calls. We selected Schmeeckle Reserve in Stevens Point, WI as our study area. We randomly selected three squirrel boxes and used an ICOtec electric game call to play either a squirrel call or an owl call on selected nights from late February through early April 2017. We played a call underneath a box and recorded responses using a Wildlife Acoustics Song Meter. To analyze the data we will used a two-tailed t-test to compare response rates between squirrel and owl calls. We are hoping to gain more insight into what stimulates southern flying squirrels respond vocally to in future studies.
