Foraging behaviour of two rodent species inhabiting a kopje (rocky outcrop) in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya

Fanson, Benjamin G.; Fanson, Kerry V.; Brown, Joel S.

doi:10.3377/1562-7020-43.2.184

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 36 publications

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“…During their lives, animals have to balance safety and foraging (Lima and Dill 1990;Brown 1992;Fanson et al 2008;Lima and Bednekoff 2008;Abu Baker and Brown 2011). One of the tactics foragers utilize for balancing these two demands is distributing themselves across habitats according to the safety and energy they provide (Brown 1988;Stephens et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Uniform predation risk in nature: common, inconspicuous, and a source of error to predation risk experiments

Menezes

Kotler

Mourão³

2014

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Previous studies indicate that when predation risk is uniform across habitats, foragers concentrate their exploitation in fewer patches. Although uniform predation risk may seem rare in nature, some scenarios might cause it. Testing all scenarios in a single experiment is unfeasible; therefore, we developed a model that points whether concentration of exploitation in specific habitats due to uniform risk requires parameter values similar to what is found in literature. This model was based on Brown's (Behav Ecol Sociobiol 22:37-47, 1988) fitness function but rescaled to multiple habitats and predators, including uniform risk predators. Deriving function's maximum allowed comparisons with giving-up density studies. Results showed that uniform predation risk had a ushaped effect in habitat exploitation, causing a concentration of habitat exploitation at probabilities of survival from 0.2 to 0.8. However, the length of this interval and degree of concentration depended on the value of safety to forager fitness. Heterogeneous, nonuniform, predation risk decreases habitat exploitation where it was higher, therefore suppressing the effect of uniform risk on prey behavior. Time spent in the focal habitat and metabolic costs reduced the detectability of habitat concentration, while total time did not. We also found that uniform risk reduced accuracy of heterogeneous risk measurements. Future studies should aim to control all possible predators, as even the mild ones can induce complex behavior.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Uniform predation risk in nature: common, inconspicuous, and a source of error to predation risk experiments

Menezes

Kotler

Mourão³

2014

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Plant Secondary Metabolites as Rodent Repellents: a Systematic Review

et al. 2016

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The vast number of plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) produced by higher plants has generated many efforts to exploit their potential for pest control. We performed a systematic literature search to retrieve relevant publications, and we evaluated these according to PSM groups to derive information about the potential for developing plant-derived rodent repellents. We screened a total of 54 publications where different compounds or plants were tested regarding rodent behavior/metabolism. In the search for widely applicable products, we recommend multi-species systematic screening of PSMs, especially from the essential oil and terpenoid group, as laboratory experiments have uniformly shown the strongest effects across species. Other groups of compounds might be more suitable for the management of species-specific or sex-specific issues, as the effects of some compounds on particular rodent target species or sex might not be present in non-target species or in both sexes. Although plant metabolites have potential as a tool for ecologically-based rodent management, this review demonstrates inconsistent success across laboratory, enclosure, and field studies, which ultimately has lead to a small number of currently registered PSM-based rodent repellents.

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Divergent foraging behaviour of a desert rodent, Notomys fuscus, in covered and open microhabitats revealed using giving up densities and video analysis

2015

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We used a combination of giving up densities (GUD) and behavioural analysis from video footage to test the response of an Australian desert rodent, Notomys fuscus, to the experimental provision of cover microhabitat in the Strzelecki Desert, Australia. In many ecosystems, cover microhabitats are considered to be safe foraging locations for rodents. The response of bipedal desert rodents to cover microhabitats is less certain, with varied findings, due to their use of open habitats for fast travel. Notomys fuscus returned lower GUDs in cover than in open microhabitats and moved slowly for a greater amount of time under cover than in the open. These results suggest that N. fuscus has a preference for foraging under cover, where predation risk is lower, and under these conditions took longer to assess the cover microhabitat before foraging. This was distinctly different to the ‘get in, get out’ behaviour associated with foraging in open habitats. We advocate for the combined measurement of GUD and behavioural analysis using video footage as a way to improve understanding of rodents’ foraging behaviour.

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Foraging behaviour of two rodent species inhabiting a kopje (rocky outcrop) in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya

Cited by 4 publications

References 36 publications

Uniform predation risk in nature: common, inconspicuous, and a source of error to predation risk experiments

Uniform predation risk in nature: common, inconspicuous, and a source of error to predation risk experiments

Plant Secondary Metabolites as Rodent Repellents: a Systematic Review

Divergent foraging behaviour of a desert rodent, Notomys fuscus, in covered and open microhabitats revealed using giving up densities and video analysis

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