Color preference by the Eastern Chipmunk, Tamias striatus, in populations exposed to humans compared to populations in the wild.

Abstract

Animals use color vision for a variety of things, but one of the most important is food location. The purpose of this study is to determine if color preference varies in different populations of the Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus), which has not been well studied. We will focus on chipmunks habituated to human contact and those relatively isolated from humans. Using feeding trays with differently colored bottoms, we observed variations in color choice based on factors such as net foraging rate, number of visits, and food taken per visit. Though there was a significant difference in foraging rates for one color (i.e. orange), no other significant differences in foraging data were obtained. Additionally, no significant differences were observed in habituated versus non-habituated chipmunk habitats. Ultimately, our results did not indicate a color preference either in general or by location; however, further studies with a larger sample size may yield stronger results.