Data from: Ecological specialization, variability in activity patterns, and response to environmental change

Differences in temporal patterns of activity can modulate the ambient
conditions to which organisms are exposed, providing an important
mechanism for responding to environmental change. Such differences may be
particularly relevant to ecological generalists, which are expected to
encounter a wider range of environmental conditions. Here, we compare
temporal patterns of activity for partially sympatric populations of a
generalist (the lodgepole chipmunk, Tamias speciosus) and a more
specialized congener (the alpine chipmunk, T. alpinus) that have displayed
divergent responses to the past century of environmental change. Although
mean activity budgets were similar between species, analyses of
individual-level variation in locomotion revealed that T. alpinus
exhibited a narrower range of activity patterns than T. speciosus. Further
analyses revealed that T. alpinus was more active earlier in the day, when
temperatures were cooler, and that activity patterns for both species
changed with increased interspecific co-occurrence. These results are
consistent with the greater responsiveness of T. alpinus to changes in
environmental conditions. In addition to highlighting the utility of
accelerometers for collecting behavioral data, our findings add to a
growing body of evidence suggesting that the greater phenotypic
variability displayed by ecological generalists may be critical to in situ
responses to environmental change.