T
Thomas A. Contreras
Researcher at Wilkes University
Publications - 3
Citations - 319
Thomas A. Contreras is an academic researcher from Wilkes University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Hoarding (animal behavior) & Acorn. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 282 citations.
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Journal ArticleDOI
Determinants of seed removal distance by scatter-hoarding rodents in deciduous forests
TL;DR: The results suggest that, when food is superabundant, optimal cache distances are more strongly determined by minimizing energy cost of caching than by minimizing pilfering rates and that cache loss rates may be more strongly density-dependent in times of low seed abundance.
Journal ArticleDOI
Do scatter hoarders trade off increased predation risks for lower rates of cache pilferage
Michael A. Steele,Thomas A. Contreras,Leila Z. Hadj-Chikh,Salvatore J. Agosta,Peter D. Smallwood,Chioma N. Tomlinson +5 more
TL;DR: Evidence is presented that eastern gray squirrels rely on an alternative strategy in which preferred food items are stored in open habitats, beyond tree crowns, where the probability of predation is higher but the risk of cache pilferage is also reduced (hereafter the habitat structure hypothesis).
Journal ArticleDOI
The innate basis of food-hoarding decisions in grey squirrels: evidence for behavioural adaptations to the oaks
Michael A. Steele,Steve Manierre,Theresa Genna,Thomas A. Contreras,Peter D. Smallwood,Michael E. Pereira +5 more
TL;DR: It is concluded that there is a strong innate basis for some of the hoarding decisions made by tree Squirrels, strengthening an emerging argument that tree squirrels show specific behavioural adaptations to the oaks.