Rodent Societies: An Ecological & Evolutionary Perspective

ual’s lifetime, such as one or more rounds of reproduc- tion (e.g., Wilson 1975; Jennions and Macdonald 1994). Spatially, member ...

that provide the basis for comparative studies of this phe- nomenon. One axis that is often used to characterize so- cial specie ...

1992), suggesting that philopatry and associated patterns of kin structure arise due to factors that are extrinsic to social gro ...

valuable opportunity to determine whether these patterns of philopatry represent quantitatively different endpoints along a cont ...

which direct fitness decreases with group size, individuals are likely forced to live together due to the prevalence of ecologic ...

most individuals direct fitness declines with group size sug- gests a compelling conceptual framework for exploring the ecologic ...

all males disperse from their natal area at the end of their juvenile season and adult males disperse between breeding seasons ( ...

as in the intervening areas of arid steppe habitat. This dif- ference in specialization creates very different spatial distri- b ...

that this axis represents a logical component of any ecolog- ical model of social behavior. Predation Predation has frequently ...

data from different populations or species of group-living rodents should yield a multidimensional cloud of points. Populations ...

one axis in a 3-dimensional graph of social structure, with the distance from the origin reflecting the strength of the se- lect ...

T he scent marks of rodentshave been cast as an olfactory equivalent of the elaborate and color- ful train of the peacock (Pavo ...

commonest odor sources. Most species use at least two sources, while others have several. For example, Libyan jirds (Meriones li ...

Figure 22.1 Summary of scent marking processes. The assessment and re- sponse phases are simplified for illustrative purposes, b ...

sponses reduce the number and intensity of potentially costly fights to which they are exposed. The formulation of scent marks a ...

dicating they have to work harder to establish and maintain social status due to their relative size disadvantage (Gosling et al ...

males in relation to their mate quality (Bateman 1948; Triv- ers 1972), and the inherent costs involved ensure that scent markin ...

at higher frequencies than nonbreeders and preferentially countermark the marks of breeding females (Hurst 1990c). Female hamste ...

A B C Figure 22.3 Life history costs of investment in scent marking by male mice. (A) In dominant males, mean growth rates betwe ...

low-marking, larger males adopt sneak-breeding or waiting strategies (Gosling et al. 2000). Gosling et al.’s study used an outbr ...