Spacing behaviour of juvenile corn mice, Calomys muculinus, at the beginning of the breeding period, in absence of adult males

STEINMANN A, PRIOTTO J, SOMMARO L, POLOP J

ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY

Elsevier

Año: 2005

1146-609X

This research was carried out to examine the hypothesis that the absence of fathers promotes a different spacing behaviour in juveniles Calomys musculinus (Thomas, 1913) at the beginning of the breeding period. The study was carried out in four 0.25ha enclosures (2 controls and 2 experimental), in a natural pasture, between November 2003 and February 2004. In this study the fathers were removed from the experimental enclosures after juveniles were born. Home-range size depended on sex of juveniles and treatment (father removal). In control and experimental enclosures, female home-range sizes were always smaller than male home-ranges. Male home-ranges were always larger in experimental enclosures than in control enclosures. Treatment and overlap type (intra- and inter-sexual) were not independent. The overlap proportions of male home-ranges were greatest in experimental enclosures than in control enclosures, in both overlap type (male/male, males/females). The intra- (females/females) and inter-sexual (females/males) overlap proportions of female home-ranges were independent of treatment. In C. musculinus, at the beginning of the breeding period and in absence of adult males,  juvenile males increase their home-range size and therefore  the degree of inter- and intra-sexual home-range overlap as a mechanism for enlarging the number of receptive females that they encount.