Abstract

BATTISTINI, Agostina S.; PROVENSAL, M. Cecilia  and  STEINMANN, Andrea Rosa. EFFECT OF THE SOCIAL STATUS OF HOUSING IN CAPTIVITY ON INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIORS: Calomys musculinus AS SPECIES ECOLOGICAL MODEL. Mastozool. neotrop. [online]. 2021, vol.28, n.1, pp.453-453.  Epub Dec 01, 2020. ISSN 0327-9383.

Several experimental studies conducted in various mammalian species, but mainly in laboratory mice and rats, demonstrated that social isolation deeply affects individual behaviors. This study was designed to understand how aggressive and exploratory behaviors of sexually mature Calomys musculinus males could be affected by housing conditions. The study was conducted in laboratory during March and May 2018. During one week, 35 males were housed in solitary condition and 30 in grouped condition (3 individuals per box). A displacement camera was used to study the scanning behavior. For the study of aggressiveness, dyadic confrontations of 5 minutes each were carried out in a circular arena, between individuals from the same treatment. The results obtained in this experimental study supported our hypothesis: C. musculinus males housed alone were more exploratory and less aggressive than those from the grouped condition. The greater aggressiveness of the C. musculinus males housed in a group was reflected by the intensity of the offensive approaches, attacks or persecutions exhibited during intra-sexual trials. Our results constitute an important contribution for the interpretation of future studies in C. musculinus that require both the transitory accommodation of individuals, the establishment of founder colonies of short stay in the bioterium, the formation of a bioterio colony, or the constitution of experimental groups.

Keywords : Aggression; exploration; housing conditions; males; Rodentia: Cricetidae.