| Project title: |
Energy expenditure of red and grey
squirrels |
| Collaborators: |
Dr Peter Lurz, Dr Peter Garson |
| PhD Student: |
Ms Amanda Lloyd |
| Funding: |
Royal Society |
Background
The UK red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
population is
now
threatened to the extent that it is given maximum protection under national
legislation. The decline in its distribution has been attributed mainly to
the spread of the introduced grey squirrel (S. carolinensis), but
the exact causes are not yet known. In spite of this, there are habitats,
such as spruce dominated forests, where the red squirrel appears to out-compete
the grey squirrel. One area of squirrel biology that has not received much
attention is the energy usage by the two species, even though the energy
expenditure of any animal is central to our understanding of many aspects
of its ecology. The aim of this project is to determine the energy expenditure
of red and grey squirrels during the reproductive period to ascertain if
there are any differences between the two species in different habitats.
This work links into ongoing modelling work that focuses on simulating the
behaviour of individuals and populations according to spatial and temporal
variations in their food supply.