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A Survey of the Ratio of Melanistic to Gray Squirrels (Sciurus Carolinensis)

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A Survey of the Ratio of Melanistic to Gray Squirrels (Sciurus Carolinensis) Olivet Nazarene University Digital Commons @ Olivet Honors Program Projects Honors Program 3-2014 A Survey of the Ratio of Melanistic to Gray Squirrels (Sciurus Carolinensis) on Five Midwestern College Campuses Molly Koleczek Olivet Nazarene University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/honr_proj Part of the Behavior and Ethology Commons, Laboratory and Basic Science Research Commons, and the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Koleczek, Molly, "A Survey of the Ratio of Melanistic to Gray Squirrels (Sciurus Carolinensis) on Five Midwestern College Campuses" (2014). Honors Program Projects. 56. https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/honr_proj/56 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors Program at Digital Commons @ Olivet. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Program Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Olivet. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A SURVEY OF THE RATIO OF MELANISTIC TO GRAY SQUIRRELS 1 A SURVEY OF THE RATIO OF MELANISTIC TO GRAY SQUIRRELS (Sciurus carolinensis) ON 5 MIDWESTERN COLLEGE CAMPUSES By Molly Koleczek Honors Scholarship Project Submitted to the Faculty of Olivet Nazarene University for partial fulfillment of the requirements for GRADUATION WITH UNIVERSITY HONORS April, 2014 BACHELOR OF SCIENCE in β ι (?_.ΠΐΛ k^- Scholarship Project Advisor (printed) Honors Council Chair (printed) Signature D ate ' R. fYl^Ltan ^( ιΙ)Η Honors Councilil Member (printed) SiWiture Date A SURVEY OF THE RATIO OF MELANISTIC TO GRAY SQUIRRELS 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Leo Finkenbinder of the Biology Department of Olivet Nazarene University for advising me during this whole process. I also want to thank Dr. Kevin Brewer of the Department of Physical Sciences of Olivet Nazarene University for aiding tremendously in the GPS portion of this study. Without the monetary support of the Honors Program at Olivet and the Honors Council of the Illinois Region, this project would not have been possible, and so my sincere gratitude is directed towards them as well. Lastly, I would like to thank the campuses that allowed me to conduct my research on their grounds. A SURVEY OF THE RATIO OF MELANISTIC TO GRAY SQUIRRELS 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐2 Table of Contents‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐3 List of Figures‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐4 List of Tables‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐5 Abstract‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐6 Introduction‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐7 Review of Literature‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐7 Materials and Methods‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐10 Results‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐12 Discussion‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐20 References‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐23 Appendix‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐24 A SURVEY OF THE RATIO OF MELANISTIC TO GRAY SQUIRRELS 4 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Figure 1. – page 10 2. Figure 2. – page 13 3. Figure 3. –page 14 4. Figure 4. –page 14 5. Figure 5. – page 15 6. Figure 6. –page 15 7. Figure 7. –page 16 8. Figure 8. –page 16 9. Figure 9. –page 17 10. Figure 10. –page 17 10. Figure 11. –page 18 12. Figure 12.‐page 18 13. Figure 13.‐page 18 14. Figure A1. ‐page 24 15. Figure A2. ‐page 25 16. Figure A3. ‐page 26 17. Figure A4. ‐page 27 18. Figure A5. ‐page 27 A SURVEY OF THE RATIO OF MELANISTIC TO GRAY SQUIRRELS 5 LIST OF TABLES 1. Table 1. –page 19 2. Table 2. –page 19 3. Table 3. –page 20 4. Table A1. ‐ page 28 5. Table A2. ‐ page 29 6. Table A3. ‐ page 30 7. Table A4.‐ page 31 8. Table A5. ‐ page 32 9. Table A6. ‐ page 33 10. Table A7. ‐ page 34 11. Table A8. ‐ page 35 12. Table A9. ‐ page 36 13. Table A10. ‐ page 37 14. Table A11. ‐ page 38 15. Table A12. ‐ page 39 16. Table A13. ‐ page 40 17. Table A14. ‐ page 41 18. Table A15. ‐ page 42 19. Table A16. ‐ page 43 20. Table A17. ‐ page 44 21. Table A18. ‐ page 45 A SURVEY OF THE RATIO OF MELANISTIC TO GRAY SQUIRRELS 6 Abstract This experiment was an observational field study on 5 college campuses across western Indiana and western Illinois. The purpose of this experiment was to find the ratio of melanistic to gray squirrels on each campus and see if the ratio changed geographically. Gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) have melanistic color variants in their populations that have not been documented across their distribution in the United States. Melanistic variants were introduced in the eastern United States and seem to be moving westward. Data was collected for all 4 seasons for Olivet Nazarene University, St. Joseph’s College and Illinois State University. Due to time constraints, University of Notre Dame and Augustana College were not observed in the winter. Olivet Nazarene University and Augustana College were the only campuses where black squirrels were present. Augustana College consistently had a higher ratio of black to gray squirrels than Olivet Nazarene University. By observing 5 campuses at distinct geographic points (northeast, southeast, central, northwest, and southwest), it was determined that the melanistic squirrels are not necessarily traveling from their initial point of introduction. The squirrels may instead have found alternate routes of moving across and into the United States. According to the results, the ratio of melanistic to gray squirrels is not decreasing moving east to west. Key words: melanistic, Sciurus carolinensis, Midwest A SURVEY OF THE RATIO OF MELANISTIC TO GRAY SQUIRRELS 7 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this project was to determine if the ratio of melanistic to gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) changes moving from western Indiana towards western Illinois. The ratio of genetic variants is important to study in any population and species as variation in species drives speciation and evolution. If certain populations are distinct enough, eventually they will evolve into a new species. Geographic distribution is one cause of speciation as geographically separated populations adapt to different environmental stresses. The adaptations can in turn lead to speciation. As melanistic squirrels were introduced in the east, I hypothesized that the ratio of melanistic to gray squirrels would be highest in the easternmost campus, University of Notre Dame, and would decrease moving west. This means that Olivet Nazarene University would have the most intermediate ratio, while Augustana College would have the lowest ratio of black to gray squirrels. This hypothesis was made under the assumption that the ratio of black to gray squirrels would be higher closer to the point of origin. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Overview of Sciurus carolinensis Gray squirrels are members of the order Rodentia and family Sciuridae. Rodentia is the most varied order of North American mammals, both in terms of habitat and physical adaptations. The defining characteristic of this order is their teeth. All rodents are equipped with paired, constantly‐growing incisors, which are used to grasp, hold, cut, pierce, and gnaw food (Melham, 1998). The name rodent comes from the Latin “rodere” which means to gnaw. The gray squirrel eats acorns, hickory nuts, walnuts and beechnuts, plus other berries. Their intelligence can be seen in foraging habits: squirrels have developed a way to counteract the development of buried acorns into seedlings by removing the embryo from the acorn before A SURVEY OF THE RATIO OF MELANISTIC TO GRAY SQUIRRELS 8 burying it. Burying the acorn also aids in leeching out high levels of tannin which is unpalatable and interferes with digestion (Halliday, 1994). Gray squirrels are characterized as tree squirrels. They are diurnal, usually solitary and territorial, with the largest brain size relative to body size of all small mammals (Forsyth 2006). Typically they appear as medium in size with bushy tails, prominent ears, relatively long hind feet, with gray dorsal coloration and white on their ventral side (Hoffmeister 1989; Forsyth 2006). Color variations are present including melanistic, meaning black. Predation is an important factor in shaping rodent evolution. Fecundity rates are high in gray squirrels to offset the index of predation. Other adaptations to predators include morphological adaptations such as eyes placed on the side of the head to allow maximum peripheral vision, elongated tails for balance, stability, and steering during arboreal leaps, and complex communication to indicate various risks in proximity (Melham, 1998; Friend, 2004). Gray squirrels live in nests and dens; males’ home ranges overlap those of several females. The males will become territorial over their ranges while females are territorial over their nests (Forsyth, 2006). They breed in late winter or early spring, have a gestation
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