Karen E. Munroe
I'm a Ph.D. student of wildlife conservation and management at The University of Arizona. I received my Bachelor's degree in biology from Arizona State University in 1997 and Master's degree in ecology from Purdue University in 2001. Over the past 15 years, I have worked with various species of squirrels, including eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) in northeastern Pennsylvania and the endangered Mt. Graham red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis) in Arizona. I am in my final years of Ph.D. research studying the ecology and social system of round-tailed ground squirrels (Spermophilus tereticaudus) at the Casa Grande National Ruins Monument. This research is funded through Western National Parks Association and T&E, Inc.
Social behavior evolves as an adaptation to maximize reproductive success and survival in a local environment. Evolution of sociality has been attributed to the benefits of reduced predation risk and/or increased acquisition of critical resources outweighing the costs of increased aggression, parasite and disease transmission and intraspecific competition, particularly for scarce resources and mating opportunities. Ground-dwelling sciurids show a continuum of sociality from solitary individuals (Franklin's ground squirrels, Spermophilus franklinii) to integrated, cohesive family groups (Olympic marmot, Marmota olympus).
My dissertation focuses on the impacts of sociality in round-tailed ground squirrels, Spermophilus tereticaudus a poorly studied desert dwelling sciurid. I have data collected on population structure, spatial patterns of relatedness, reproductive characteristics, mating system and activity patterns including social interactions for a population of round-tailed ground squirrels at the Casa Grande National Ruins Monument. I use a variety of traditional behavioral observational study techniques with current molecular tools. This study fills information gaps in the sciuridae family, will be used as a model for examining predictions of sociality and provides critical baseline data for wildlife managers and conservation biologists for effective management.
