Adamaris' Project Page

Who:  I am from Salt Lake City, Utah and chose to attend the University of Utah for the numerous learning opportunities the school has to offer. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, getting Boba, and exploring the city.

My scientific interests:  I’ve known that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine ever since my sophomore year of high school, when I had the opportunity of visiting a cadaver lab. After getting to hold a brain, I immediately knew that I had found my passion. Learning about the human body is something that fascinates me.

Academic goals:  I am currently a Biology major. I want to deepen my critical thinking and learn to take healthy risks even if that may mean accepting failure. I hope to continue working in my research lab and develop as a researcher.

Career goals:  After undergrad, I plan to attend medical school to become a pediatrician. I want to be able to assist others and help improve their quality of life. As an educated Latina, I intend to bring my growing knowledge base back to serve those I have grown up among. I want to be part of the solution to bring quality health care to many in our community that have little or no access.

The fox squirrel ( Sciurus niger ) is native to the eastern United States. In 2011, they were spotted in Utah along the Jordan River. Since then, this invasive species has rapidly spread along the Wasatch Front. This invasion is of concern as fox squirrels can cause damage to human crops and infrastructure as well as potentially impact native species, such as the American Red Squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus ). However, little work has been done investigating the spread of fox squirrels and their behavior in Utah. Flexibility in foraging behavior is a factor that may contribute to a species ability to persist in an introduced habitat. To investigate changes in behavior, we observed the foraging behavior of fox squirrels in introduced and native habitats. Native range observations were taken from the squirrel-net national database. We also observed red squirrels in Utah. In addition, we collected S. niger specimens in Salt Lake City and created study skins for future research. We found that fox squirrels are significantly less vigilant in their introduced range compared to their native range. They also spent significantly less time foraging for food. Fox squirrels in their introduced habitat spent the majority of time on ‘other’ behaviors, which includes climbing, grooming, and running. Fox squirrels may be less vigilant because they don’t have as many predators or lower conspecific competition in introduced habitats. Additionally, fox squirrels may have spent less time foraging for food as the majority of observations from the introduced habitat were taken in winter, when they primarily rely on stored food. This research will contribute to our understanding of the impact of invasive squirrels in the US and what forces contribute to their successful migration and establishment.