Squirrels in the city: predicted threats to our native squirrel from two invading species

Squirrels in the city: predicted threats to our native squirrel from two invading species

Dr. Jessica Castillo Vardaro, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Biological Sciences Department, San Jose State University

Virtual Event via ZOOM: May 17, 2022 at 4:30 PM (PT) 

Invasive species are a major threat to biodiversity worldwide and tree squirrels (Sciuridae) are among the most successful mammalian invaders. Two tree squirrels native to the eastern United States, the eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) and eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), have been repeatedly introduced into the western United States over the past century. In that time, the non-native species have expanded their ranges extensively and have negatively impacted the only native species of large tree squirrel in the western United States, the western grey squirrel (Sciurus griseus). In this talk I will outline what we know about the introduction history of non-native squirrels in California (spoiler, Stanford features prominently), present an undergraduate student-driven project that used citizen science data from iNaturalist to predict future threats to our native grey squirrel, and discuss our ongoing and future urban ecology work.