From her web page 'We are studying the function of visual and vocal signaling in Eastern gray squirrels. Gray squirrels are tree squirrels that give alarm calls when threatened. We present mechanical squirrel models in the field that are giving alarm displays, and record the responses of conspecifics to test whether or not the visual and audio components of the alarm signals are redundant. Our results suggest that the channels are redundant yet that they may be relied upon differently in different habitats." You can read the scholarly work of Partan et al. 2009 and 2010 by going to her publication page at the site http://helios.hampshire.edu/~srpCS/Research.html).
I first learned of her work through the following popular press reporting
