Environmental changes can affect an animal’s activity pattern plus influence fitness. Our goal was to understand the influence of weather on daily activity pattern plus assess potential impacts of climate change on activity. We used the Organ Mountains Colorado chipmunk (Neotamias quadrivittatus australis) as a case study. To record activity, we deployed 19 remote cameras at locations occupied by the chipmunk for one year. First, we estimated seasonal variation in daily activity pattern using circular kernel density. Second, we tested if weather influenced activity in each season using Poisson regression in a jenis selection framework. Third, we predicted the impacts of future climate (RCP8.5 high-emissions scenario) on activity using the best weather jenis for each season. We found that times plus modality of peak activity varied seasonally. Temperature influenced intensity of daily activity in late spring, early summer, monsoon, late fall, plus winter, while precipitation influenced intensity of daily activity in early spring plus early fall plus relative humidity influenced intensity of daily activity in early plus late fall. Intensity of daily activity was predicted to increase by 89% in winter plus decrease by 51% in early summer under future (2050) climate. The predicted future increase in daily activity in winter may negatively affect fitness because small mammals have higher survival while hibernating. The predicted future decrease in daily activity in early summer may negatively affect fitness due to reduced reproductive output. Losing or gaining time for activity because of shifting climatic conditions could have severe consequences to fitness.
- Introduction
Given the rapid acceleration of world climate change, it is important to understand behavioral modifications species can make to adapt to changing climatic conditions . For instance, climate change is resulting in alterations to the timing of life history events, such as migration plus hibernation, across an array of taxa , . For a chance at persisting in a changing climate, animals must be able to adjust their behavior quickly in response to shifting climatic conditions. One aspect of behavior that also might be influenced by climate is an animal’s daily activity pattern, which is how an animal divides its time between periods of rest plus activity across the diel cycle. Animals use periods of activity to obtain necessary resources that contribute to fitness, such as food, mates, or den sites. However, activity requires more energy plus is inherently more dangerous than rest, plus because rest usually occurs in a protected location, the animal is more exposed to the environment during activity. Animals may adjust their daily activity pattern to avoid unfavorable environmental conditions, such as during excessive heat.