Biology Commons^™

The Effects Of Social Context & Cache Survival On Pinyon Jay Caching Behavior, Christine L. Keefe

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

I examined how pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) assess and determine the risk of pilferage to their caches. Jays were allowed to cache in an open room while alone or while being observed by a conspecific. In a counterbalanced design, jays cached in the opposite treatment once they had finished recovering their caches. I compared birds’ behaviors between treatments in order to determine whether jays consider the presence of an observer in measuring the local competitive environment. Once all jays had completed alone- and observed- treatments, I ran the experiment once more to determine if individuals were consistent in …