This is a free public event that is hosted in downtown Eau Claire on the second Tuesday of each month during the school year at 2 Roots Gallery. The goal of Ask-A-Scientist is to highlight relevant scientific work happening at UWEC and beyond and give the public an opportunity to ask their questions about science directly to scientists engaged in that work.

In this talk, Dr. Smith outlines evidence for two major insights gained from team squirrel’s Long-term Behavioral Ecology Study on California ground squirrels. First, Smith leverages spatial and temporal variation in human presence to uncover the factors “stressing squirrels out” in a semi-urban park. Second, Smith shares video and photographic evidence for the novel emergence of widespread hunting and carnivorous behavior by California ground squirrels. Together, these data inform our understanding of landscapes of fear and behavioral flexibility in nature. More broadly, these findings highlight the importance of long-term studies for uncovering animal responses to environmental conditions over space and time. There is time after the talk for the audience to ask any questions they might have.