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The Effect Of Predator Positioning And Related Angles On The Flight-Initiation Distance And Refuge Choice Of The Eastern Gray Squirrel., Lindsay Nason

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect that the relative positions of squirrel, predator, and refuges, as well as the predator’s SPT angle (See Figure 1), had on a squirrel’s choice of refuge and the length of its flight initiation distance. A running person was used to simulate an attacking predator, and the relative positions of squirrel, person, and refuges were measured using both distance and compass angle. Data were collected in September and October 2014 at several urban green spaces in Louisville, Kentucky. The SPT angle measurement was not found to be particularly useful in predicting …