Abstract A key characteristic of some wildlife species might be their ability to alter aspects of their behavior from living in natural to more urbanized environments. We investigated the extent to which rock squirrels (Otospermophilus variegatus) are capable of behavioral flexibility in response to changing environments such as increasing urbanization. Urbanization may influence behaviors such as foraging and vigilance, which are essential for survival. Greater time spent in vigilance could entail less time for foraging. Yet it remains unclear whether urbanization leads to increased or decreased vigilance behavior in comparison to squirrels living in natural environments. Relatively greater human presence and anthropogenic disturbances of an urban environment might habituate squirrels to potential threats and thus lead to less vigilance. Alternatively, the greater human presence and activity might induce greater vigilance as a direct response to the frequent and more intense anthropogenic stimuli of the urban environment. We examined the effects of urbanization on rock squirrel behavior at five different locations in central Texas USA along the eastern edge of the species geographic range. Behavioral data were extracted from videos obtained from wildlife cameras placed near burrows. Beta regression revealed that squirrels in highly urbanized landscapes spent less time being vigilant than those in less urbanized landscapes, although urbanization appeared to have no effect on time spent foraging. Our study highlights the role of behavioral flexibility in allowing some wildlife species to exist in urban environments.
Williams et al. (Thu,) studied this question.