Behaviour of house mice in semi-confined conditions: influence of spatial separation and population size

Abstract

M. 1998. Behaviour of house mice in semi-confined conditions: influence of spatial separation and population size. Acta Theriologica 43: 241-254.Quantitative scores for 4 behavioural patterns, especially those of an antagonistic nature, were recorded from wild individual of Mus musculus musculus Linnaeus, 1758 living in semi-confinement in an outdoor enclosure divided into four pens. The enclosure was "permeable", in that mice were able to move between pens and between the enclosure and the outside. The population was monitored by the capture-mark--recapture method. In the spring of 1988 and 1989 the behaviour of mice trapped in the enclosure was studied in unisexual encounters in a neutral arena. There were no significant differences in scores for behaviour in relation to the degree of spatial separation of the places of capture of individuals paired together (except in the number of attempts to escape noted for females in 1989 and the total activity noted for males in 1988). Males and females did not differ significantly in scores for aggressive behaviour, but mice were more aggressive and more active in 1989 when the population in the enclosure was smaller, than in 1988, when it was larger.

Ecologia rozătoarelor mici

“…În perechile de ♀ și ♂; ♀ și ♀ nu s-au stabilit relații de agresivitate. Conform cercetărilor efectuate în voleiere, unde densitatea indivizilor M. musculus era destul de mare pentru a garanta contacte frecvente între masculi, totuși nivelul agresivității a fost scăzut (Walkowa et al, 1998;Kotenkova, Munteanu, 2006).…”

Mating behavior differences in monogamous and polygamous sympatric closely related species Mus musculus and Mus spicilegus and their role in behavioral precopulatory isolation

“…Males and females of these species were crossed under laboratory conditions, and their F 1 and F 2 hybrids are viable and fertile (Bulatova et al, 1986). The social organization of natural and semi-natural populations in commensal taxa has pronounced plasticity and varies widely with regions or size of enclosure (Crowcroft, 1954(Crowcroft, , 1955Crowcroft & Rowe, 1963;Lloyd, 1975;Lidicker, 1976;Singleton & Hay, 1983;Sokolov et al, 1990b;Krasnov & Choсhlova, 1994;Walkowa et al, 1998). At low population density males defend individual territories, but they form dominance hierarchies at high densities (Davis, 1958).…”