Punxsutawney Power: Groundhogs Go Solar

Punxsutawney Power: Groundhogs Go Solar

Presenter(s)

Andrew Bumps, Rodrigo Del Rincón Martínez, Elizabeth Divish, Gretchen Sackman, Victoria Scachitti

Comments

10:45-12:00, Kennedy Union Ballroom

Description

This study investigates the activity of groundhogs (Marmota monax) within the solar panel prairie of native grasses and wildflowers at Curran Place at the University of Dayton. The environment was split into three microhabitats where burrows were found: under the solar panels, in the aisles, and the buffer area. Six burrows were monitored over a two week period using motion activated cameras to determine if groundhogs had a preference of what burrow locations they used. It was hypothesized that burrows under solar panels would have the highest amount of activity (detections). Results showed that groundhogs show no preference between microhabitats and remain largely unaffected by the presence of solar panels. An ANOVA test found no statistically significant results, likely due to limitations such as time constraints, lack of replications, different camera angles, and uneven amounts of microhabitat cameras. The study concluded that groundhogs may not be significantly impacted by the presence of solar panels if other environmental factors are consistent.

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Project Designation

Course Project - BIO 452L M1

Primary Advisor

Connor Raynor Kurz, Chelse M. Prather

Primary Advisor's Department

Biology

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Punxsutawney Power: Groundhogs Go Solar

Share

COinS