Aggressive communication through vocalization in chipmunks, Tamias striatus.

Abstract

Aggressive communication was studied in chipmunks, Tamias striatus. Vocalized chipping bouts were studied for their effect on foraging behavior at a seed pile. Chipmunk behavior should change from continuous feeding during silence if communication occurs via chipmunk chipping. Three treatments were randomly executed as an animal approached the seed: a recorded chipping bout of a non-neighboring chipmunk, a recorded birdsong, and silence. Observations of the behavior during these playbacks was scaled into a gradient ranging from continuous feeding to running and hiding. The animals showed no change in behavior during the birdsong, but did react either by listening or running from the tray during the playback of the chipping bout. Hence, aggressive communication occurred in these chipmunks via the recording of the chipping, and not just because sound was emitting from a speaker.