Spatial learning abilities in males and females of the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum

MATIAS E. MASTRANGELO; CRISTIAN E. SCHLEICH; ROXANA ZENUTO

ETHOLOGY ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE

Año: 2010 vol. 22 p. 101 - 108

0394-9370

Few studies have focused on sex differences in spatial learning in subterranean rodents. Ctenomys talarum inhabits complex burrow systems, with males occupying larger areas than females. We assessed spatial learning ability by measuring the capacity of C. talarum individuals to solve appetitive radial or longitudinal spatial tasks during the non-reproductive season. We found that, regardless of sex differences in home-range size, males and females performed similarly in both tasks, rapidly improving their spatial performance after the initial trials and maintaining an accurate performance during subsequent trials. Our results show that sex differences in home-range sizes may not always lead to the evolution of sexually dimorphic spatial abilities.