Effects of forest fragmentation on behaviour patterns in the eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus)

We examined behaviour in adult eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) from 1992 to 1995 in a landscape altered by forest clear-cutting in central Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Our objective was to compare behaviour patterns in chipmunk populations occupying mature continuous forest versus mature forested corridors (100 m wide) surrounded by clearcuts. Chipmunks spent a significantly greater proportion of their time pausing in the forested-corridor habitat than in the continuous-forest habitat. In addition, chipmunks spent less time locomoting and foraging in the forested-corridor habitat than in the continuous forest. We attributed differences in behaviour patterns between chipmunks in the two forest types primarily to the influence of forest fragmentation on the risk of predation and to the availability of food resources.