Why do male Columbian ground squirrels give a mating call?

Manno, Theodore G.; Nesterova, Anna; DeBarbieri, Liliana M.; Kennedy, Stuart E.; Wright, Kelsey S; Dobson, F. Stephen

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.02.033

Cited by 32 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…2010). Copulation dates for females were estimated from diagnostic behaviours that are exhibited only on the single annual day of mating (Manno et al. 2007; Manno & Dobson 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Philopatry and within‐colony movements in Columbian ground squirrels

2011

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Philopatry and dispersal result in selection of habitat locations that may differ in resources and social environment and thus should influence fitness components like survival and reproduction. We examined short-distance movements of young and adult females from natal or previous nesting sites within a colony of Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus) in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada, over a 17-year period. Females of all ages were strongly philopatric, yet a few (10-15%) exhibited movements that took them to new home ranges. We tested three hypotheses to explain the pattern of female natal and breeding movements: (1) that movements of philopatric females promote proximity to close kin; (2) that range shifts favour close kin via bequeathal of territory and (3) that dispersers move to lower density areas where competition for resources is lower. Tests of these three hypotheses revealed that: (1) philopatry and movements of young and older philopatric females led to proximity to mothers and local presence of close kin; (2) breeding dispersal did not result in bequeathal of home range to daughters, but movements of philopatric females suggested that they shared space with close kin and (3) adult females moved to new ranges with lower local densities, though dispersing females also left ranges where local density was significantly lower than for philopatric females. Natal and breeding movements among years produced two opportunities for territorial females: close spatial proximity to close kin via short philopatric movements, and habitats with fewer competitors via longer dispersal movements.

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“…2010). Copulation dates for females were estimated from diagnostic behaviours that are exhibited only on the single annual day of mating (Manno et al. 2007; Manno & Dobson 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Philopatry and within‐colony movements in Columbian ground squirrels

2011

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“…Previous studies suggested that reproductive male Columbian ground squirrels invest both time and energy in postcopulatory behaviors such as mating calls (Manno et al 2007) and mate guarding (Manno and Dobson 2008). Whether such behavioral mechanisms influence siring success, however, remains unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even though these 2-and 3-year-old males rarely defend a territory (Manno et al 2007;Manno and Dobson 2008), they are still physically capable of obtaining copulations and siring success (Raveh et al 2010). …”

Section: Operational Sex Ratiomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We thus refer to the time spent underground by the pair as "consortship duration". Nonetheless, consortship duration is likely to reflect true copulation duration, since (1) estrus occurs directly after hibernation, during that period females and males spend the maximum daylight period foraging and regaining body weight and entering a burrow together during daylight is otherwise rare ; (2) males and females leaving the burrow show postcopulatory behaviors (i.e., male and female genital grooming, removal of copulatory plugs, mate guarding, and mate calling; Manno et al 2007;Murie and McLean 1980;Murie 1995); and (3) paternity analysis revealed that males staying in a burrow for at least 15 min could sire offspring (Raveh et al 2010). We sometimes missed recording consort duration, particularly for the first male to mate with the female, since the pair was not observed entering a burrow together (but we observed them emerging together; for more details, see Raveh et al 2010).…”

Section: Observations Of Consorting Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mate guarding duration was defined as the time spent by the male after consortship in chasing the female into a burrow, sitting on that burrow, and/or fighting with rival males to prevent and/or delay subsequent consortships (Manno et al 2007). …”

Section: Observations Of Consorting Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Male reproductive tactics to increase paternity in the polygynandrous Columbian ground squirrel (Urocitellus columbianus)

Raveh

Heg

Viblanc

et al. 2010

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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In polyandrous and polygynandrous species where females mate with multiple partners, males are expected to maximize their fitness by exhibiting an array of reproductive behaviors to ensure fertilization success, such as competing for the best mating order within a mating sequence, optimizing their investment in copulation, and mate guarding. Though there is genetic evidence of a first-male precedence in siring success for many mammalian species, the causes of this effect are poorly understood. We studied influences on first-male precedence in Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus). We found that the time a male spent consorting and mate guarding declined with his mating order (both the highest for the first male to mate). Mate guarding by the first male significantly reduced, but did not exclude, the number of additional males a female accepted. Later mating males reduced the time spent consorting, suggesting a perceived decreased chance of fertilization success. Consortship and mate guarding durations were positively related to the male's siring success and to each other, suggesting that males adjusted these behaviors strategically to increase their chances of fertilization success. Our results suggest that besides being the first male to consort, first-male sperm precedence is further enhanced through longer mating bouts and by suppressing the chances and/or efforts of later mating males.

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Behaviors associated with vocal communication of squirrels

Diggins

2021

Ecosphere

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Vocal communication is an important method squirrels (Sciuridae) use to transfer information from one individual to others. While behaviors associated with vocal communication have been explored in individual species or single call-types in specific groups of squirrels, no comprehensive review of these behaviors exists for Sciuridae. Herein, I review the current literature to describe behaviors associated with vocal communication in three groups of squirrels: ground squirrels, tree squirrels, and flying squirrels. I discuss the behavioral functions of squirrel vocalizations. A wide variety of behaviors are associated with particular call-types produced by squirrels, including alarm, agonistic, discomfort, affiliative, mating, and neonatal calls. There are large knowledge gaps in cataloging the vocal repertoires and associated behaviors of many species of squirrels, including commonly studied species such as marmots and ground squirrels, as alarm calls are typically focused on and other call-types are understudied or ignored. Since vocal communication is important to the development, reproduction, and survival of squirrels, further understanding the biological and ecological drivers behind vocal repertoires is critical to evaluating the ethology of this family as a whole.

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Why do male Columbian ground squirrels give a mating call?

Cited by 32 publications

References 40 publications

Philopatry and within‐colony movements in Columbian ground squirrels

Philopatry and within‐colony movements in Columbian ground squirrels

Male reproductive tactics to increase paternity in the polygynandrous Columbian ground squirrel (Urocitellus columbianus)

Behaviors associated with vocal communication of squirrels

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