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Published byFelicity Briggs Modified over 9 years ago
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Ground squirrels use an infrared signal to deter rattlesnake predation Aaron S. Rundus, Donald H. Owings, Sanjay S. Joshi, Erin Chinn, and Nicolas Giannini Squirrels versus Snakes
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Introduction: Mommy ground squirrels use different tactics to deal with different predators Birds, mammals Snakes Vocal displaysVisual displays: “Tail flagging” Richard G. Coss
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Introduction: tail flagging is used for rattlesnakes and gopher snakes RattlesnakeGopher snake
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Hypotheses and Predictions H1: Squirrels use an infrared component to tail flagging when confronting rattlesnakes P1: infrared t.f. with rattlesnakes but not with gopher snakes H2: Tail flagging + infrared helps to prevent rattlesnake predatory behavior P1: rattlesnakes will display more defensive behavior (coiling, rattling) with infrared t.f. compared to normal t.f.
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Methods + heated tail - heated tail rattlesnake gopher snake
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Results
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Hypotheses and Predictions H1: Squirrels use an infrared component to tail flagging when confronting rattlesnakes P1: infrared t.f. with rattlesnakes but not with gopher snakes H2: Tail flagging + infrared helps to prevent rattlesnake predatory behavior P1: rattlesnakes will display more defensive behavior (coiling, rattling) with infrared t.f. compared to normal t.f.
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Future directions Squirrel power: Do other squirrel behaviors help the effectiveness of tail flagging? (ex: substrate throwing) Using the correct lingo: Are there more examples of animals that use infrared signals to “talk” with other species?
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