| dc.description.abstract | Asymmetrical competition occurs frequently and can potentially lead to a small species facing resource exclusion. When this competition occurs for food resources, smaller species often have to compensate for this pressure by becoming more efficient foragers. This can include harvesting food more efficiently (Brown, Kotler & Mitchell, 1994), knowing when one should revisit a patch site (Devenport, Humphries, & Devenport (1998), and expertly hiding one’s stores to prevent theft (Devenport, Luna, & Devenport, 2000; Penner & Devenport, 2011). There has been indirect evidence that suggests that some of these behavioral differences are the result of cognitive adaptations (Devenport et al., 2000; Penner & Devenport, 2011, Vander Wall, 1991). This study assessed whether a pair of asymmetrical competitors (small Tamias minimus and large T. striatus) would display different foraging strategies and if these differences were the result of underlying cognitive differences between them. These expectations were partially supported by this study. Using a well-validated measure of cognitive mapping, T.minimus was found to create more complex maps suggesting that T.minimus can rely more on their memory of cache location, thereby hide them more effectively, and perhaps allow more time for robbing the larger and more easily found caches of T. striatus. While T.minimus is disadvantaged at harvest sites because of its size, it may narrow the competitive gap owing to improved caching and pilfering behavior. | en_US |
