Implementing my data collection strategies posed a few problems. The main issue was finding squirrels to make my observations on. Several days I spent hours waiting for squirrels to appear with no luck, or I would find one to observe only for it to run off. Another factor that only recently became an issue is ticks. It has begun to warm up enough for them to come out of their overwintering period. In order to reach the secluded location where half my observations take place, I must wear long clothing and be careful where I am sitting.
So far, the data I have collected has supported my hypothesis. In fact, I was surprised to find how different the behaviours were between squirrels when they were in each location. Though I had suspected my initial hypothesis would be supported, thus far the significance of my results has been stronger than I had anticipated they would be from locations only 250m apart.
Because I was interested in how squirrels behaved differently in the presence of humans vs squirrels secluded from humans, I considered if a third site should be added to my study, somewhere further down the path to an even more secluded site to create a gradient of data. However, given time restraints, and the difficulty of finding squirrels in the first place (particularly in the forested location 2) I decided not to modify my methods and will continue with my current approach.
Hello
yes ticks are a thing! tick check is good post grass adventures
be careful to look for data that support hypothesis or one might inadvertently ‘see’ more data that supports hypothesis rather than not. just a note
one way to eliminate human presence of course would be to put up a camera somewhere and then look at the footage afterwards – you could put this in ideas for future studies
what other ‘threats’ might send a squirrel into chatter mode, besides humans?
Nancy