Rodent Societies: An Ecological & Evolutionary Perspective

that anticipates further energy needs; heavy predawn feed- ing presumably enabled the rats to last through the corre- spondingly ...

with regard to their feeding habits, and are generally will- ing to try new foods (Southern 1954; Meehan 1984); how- ever, under ...

nance hierarchies, and for inducing dispersal of males (Crowcroft 1955; Anderson and Hill 1965). In feral house mice, male-male ...

in the laboratory). While some observations may represent an artifact of laboratory conditions, studies of wild and laboratory r ...

cial dominance and aggression (Oakeshott 1974), and chance (Berry and Jakobson 1974). Thus numerous exper- imental studies have ...

winter. Rats show delayed onset of sexual maturity and fac- ultative cessation of spermatogenesis when food is scarce (Fenn 1989 ...

kin recognition and the multiple paternity of litters, could it be that the male was able to kill selectively the pups that were ...

not appear to play any significant role in diseases such as plague (Yersinia pestis). Mice transmit Salmonellabut in general app ...

fig. 32.4), and this is often where control efforts are most in- tensive (Brunton, Macdonald, and Buckle 1993; 1996; Quy et al. ...

P atterns in the availabilityand utilization of resources are important constraints on the social organization of mammals, as es ...

in the dry season, (2)bajios,areas covered with short, highly palatable grasses which flood in the wet season, and (3)ban- cos,a ...

on bajios throughout the year, but particularly in the dry and early-wet seasons; animals spend less time in this habi- tat as i ...

(Cephalophus monticola), and Kirk’s dikdik (Madoqua kir- kii) all pair bond and live in much smaller ranges (10 ha) compared to ...

stable, with few changes occurring, even across years (Her- rera and Macdonald 1987). This stability is comparable to that of se ...

also individually. Large groups also had more subordinates that have lower marking rates. Since larger groups defended larger te ...

tuses were found adjoining one female neighbor at the head of the uterine horn significantly more than expected. These results l ...

2004). Generally, communal denning species that behave alloparentally are polygynous, or reproduction is confined to one female ...

1985]). However, since the soil was easily dug and dens were widespread in the study area, it seems unlikely that a limita- tion ...

rapidly exhausted. Rain brings regrowth of grasses and forbs in the scrub, where the dispersion of sparse grazing forces maras t ...

T he octodontidae and ctenomyidaeoffer numerous intriguing opportunities to explore the evolution of rodent societies. Although ...