Gabrielle Vinyard, junior Biology major at Butler University, is conducting undergraduate research through Butler Summer Institute under the direction of faculty mentor Dr. Carmen Salsbury, Director of the Science, Technology and Society Interdisciplinary Program Department of Biological Sciences Butler.

She is seeking neighbors to help provide data to inform an understanding of How Human Activities Affect Urban Squirrel Population Distribution and Abundance.

If you wish to participate in the online survey, click here.

Why squirrels?

“Squirrels have adapted remarkably well to the rapidly changing conditions of an urban environment, and they are an iconic, easily observed animal to study. As we learn more about urban squirrel populations, we can apply that new information to other urban species and hopefully help urban animal populations survive and thrive in the future.”

“In order to help determine how human activities affect urban squirrel populations, I would love it if you could take a few moments and fill out my survey. It consists of a few questions about activities that could potentially affect where squirrels live, such as pets, landscaping, and bird feeders. Once these data are gathered, I can see if there is a relationship between certain human activities and the distribution of squirrels in these areas. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email, and let me know if you would like to receive an email with the final results of my research.”

You may email Gabrielle at urbansquirrelstudy@gmail.com

To learn more about the research, download the brochure.