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Behavioral Indices of Adrenal Gland Weight in the California Ground Squirrel
Author(s) -
Adams Lowell,
Finn Joseph A.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1935725
Subject(s) - ground squirrel , adrenal gland , population , sight , biology , ecology , index (typography) , squirrel monkey , demography , endocrinology , computer science , physics , astronomy , sociology , world wide web
The behavioral characteristic time—in—sight promises to be a reliable, objective index to the weight of the adrenal gland in California ground squirrels. Time—in—sight is defined as the percentage of time during scheduled observation periods that a squirrel is actually in view. The more an animal is available to be seen, the smaller its adrenal, and vice versa (correlation coefficient r=—0.835). Another promising index of gland weight is based on the experienced observer's subjective evaluation of the squirrel's behavior. The initial study included observations of male squirrels in one locality and in one season only. Further validation is needed with regard to variations in sex, season, and locality. Establishment of a behavioral index of adrenal gland size eliminates the need to kill to obtain gland weights in studies of social biology and population dynamics. With such an index ongoing studies of living animals are possible.