Social relations in family-groups of wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus under laboratory and enclosure conditions

• Autorzy: Zgrabczynska E. , Pilacinska B.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Two family-groups of wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus (Linnaeus, 1758) were ob­served: one in the laboratory (terrarium 100 x 60 x 60 cm) and the other under enclosure conditions (outdoor enclosure 200 x 100 x 100 cm). Three consecutive periods in the social relations of the family-groups were described: the linear hierarchy, the multidirectional social relations, and the variable dominance-subordination relations. The linear social hierarchy was reflected in the subordination behaviour of family members in relation to the dominant male, the father of the family. During the period of coexistence of a pair of parents with two litters of juveniles, both in the laboratory and under enclosure conditions, amicable relations between individuals occurred. Advanced forms of social care (paternal care, allomaternal lactation, transportation and licking by relatives) were also observed. In the laboratory, agonistic interactions were lacking during the linear hierarchy period, but the attainment of sexual maturity by individuals of the first two litters, accompanied by an increase in the number of mice, resulted in aggression between mature males and competition for dominance. Further, under increasingly crowded conditions, agonistic behaviour prevailed over other types of social interaction, and the survival rate of juveniles decreased. Under enclosure conditions a seasonal variation in agonistic interaction between mature individuals was recorded, similar to that observed in the wild. Despite the systematic increase in population density, no attacks by mature males on juveniles were observed.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

mouse; social behaviour; mice; wood mice; social relation; family group; Apodemus sylvaticus

• Wydawca: -
• Czasopismo: Acta Theriologica
• Rocznik: 2002
• Tom: 47
• Numer: 2
• Opis fizyczny: p.151-162,fig.,ref.

Twórcy

autor

Zgrabczynska E.

• Adam Mickiewicz University, Fredry 10, 61-701 Poznan, Poland

autor

Pilacinska B.

Bibliografia

• Altmann J. 1974. Observational study of behaviour: sampling methods. Behaviour 49: 227-267.
• Brown L. E. 1966. Home range and movement of small mammals. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 18: 111-142.
• Brown L. E. 1969. Field experiments on the movements of Apodemus sylvaticus L. using trapping and tracking techniques. Oecologia 2: 198-222.
• Bovet J. 1972a. On the social behaviour in a stable group of long-tailed field mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). I. An interpretation of defensive postures. Behaviour 41: 43-54.
• Bovet J. 1972b. On the social behaviour in a stable group of long-tailed field mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). II. It is relations with distribution of daily activity. Behaviour 41: 55-67.
• Cody C. B. J. 1982. Studies on behavioural and territorial factors relating to the dynamics of woodland rodent populations. PhD thesis, University of Oxford, Oxford: 12-34.
• Crowcroft P. and Rowe F. P. 1963. Social organization and territorial behaviour in the wild house mouse (Mus musculus L.). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 140: 517-531.
• Cihakova J. and Frynta D. 1996a. Intraspecific and interspecific behavioural interactions in the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) and yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) in a neutral cage. Folia Zoologica 45: 105-113.
• Cihakova M. and Frynta D. 1996b. Reproduction in Apodemus sylvaticus (Rodentia: Muridae) in captivity. Acta Societas Zoologica Bohemiae 60: 83-93.
• Dieterlen F. 1962. Geburt und Geburtshilfe bei der Stachelmaus, Acomys cahirinus. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 19: 191-222.
• Flowerdew J. R. 1974. Field and laboratory experiments on the social behaviour and population dynamics of the wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). Journal of Animal Ecology 43: 499-511.
• Flowerdew J. R. 1985. The population dynamics of wood mice and yellow-necked mice. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 55: 315-338.
• Gurnell J. 1977. Neutral cage behavioural interaction in wild wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus (Linne, 1758). Säugetierkundliche Mitteilungen 25: 57-66.
• Gurnell J. 1978. Seasonal changes in numbers and male behavioural interaction in a population of wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus. Journal of Animal Ecology 47: 741-755.
• Hoffmeyer I. 1973. Interaction and habitat selection in the mice Apodemus flavicollis and Apodemus sylvaticus. Oikos 24: 108-116.
• Hurst J. L. 1988. A system for the individual recognition of small rodents at a distance, used in free-living and enclosed populations of house mice. Journal of Zoology, London 215: 363-367.
• Kaufmann J. H. 1983. On the definitions and functions of dominance and territoriality. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 58: 1-20.
• Kowalski K. and Ruprecht A. L. 1984. [Family: Mice - Muridae]. [In: Klucz do oznaczania ssaków Polski. Z. Pucek, ed]. Pañstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warszawa: 194-220. [In Polish]
• Krushinska N. L. and Pucek Z. 1989. Ethological study of sympatric species of European water shrews. Acta Theriologica 34: 269-285.
• Lambin X. 1988. Social relations in Apodemus sylvaticus as revealed by video-observation in the wild. Journal of Zoology, London 216: 587-593.
• Montgomery W. I. 1980a. Population structure and dynamics of sympatric Apodemus species (Rodentia: Muridae). Journal of Zoology, London 192: 351-377.
• Montgomery W. I. 1980b. Spatial organization in sympatric populations of Apodemus sylvaticus and Apodemus flavicollis (Rodentia: Muridae). Journal of Zoology, London 192: 379-401.
• Montgomery W. I. 1989. Population regulation in the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus. II. Density dependence in spatial distribution and reproduction. Journal of Animal Ecology 58: 477-494.
• Montgomery W. I. and Gurnell J. 1985. The behaviour of Apodemus. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 55: 89-115.
• Oktaba W. 1972. [Methods of mathematical statistics in experimentation]. Pañstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warszawa: 23-100. [In Polish]
• Randolph S. E. 1977. Changing spatial relationships in a population of Apodemus sylvaticus with the onset of breeding. Journal of Animal Ecology 46: 653-673.
• Richard-Yris M. A. 1978. Experimental study of interindividual relationships in small groups of male long-tailed field mice, Apodemus sylvaticus, a murid rodent. Biology of Behaviour 3: 287-304.
• Stenseth N. C. and Lidicker W. Z. Jr 1992. Animal dispersal: Small mammals as a model. Chapman and Hall, London: 23-28.
• Stopka P. and Macdonald D. W. 1999. The market effect in the wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus: Selling information on reproductive status. Ethology 105: 969-982.
• Suchomelová E. and Frynta D. 2000. Intraspecific behavioural interactions in Apodemus microps: a peaceful mouse? Acta Theriologica 45: 201-209.
• Thomas J. A. and Birney E. C. 1979. Parental care and mating system of the prairie vole, Microtus orchogaster. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 5: 171-186.
• Wilson W. L., Montgomery W. I. and Elwood R. W. 1993. Population regulation in the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus (L.). Mammal Review 23: 73-92.
• Wolton R. J. 1983. The activity of free-ranging wood mice, Apodemus sylvaticus. Journal of Animal Ecology 52: 781-794.
• Wolton R. J. 1985. The ranging and nesting behaviour of wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus (Rodentia: Muridae), as revealed by radio-tracking. Journal of Zoology, London 206: 203-224.
• Wolton R. J. and Flowerdew J. R. 1985. Spatial distribution and movements of wood mice, yellow­-necked mice and bank voles. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 55: 249-275