THE DYNAMICS OF THE AGGRESSIVE INTERACTIO N IN SOCIAL AND SOLITARY SPECIES OF GERBILS (RODENTIA, CRICETIDAE)

Social and solitary species may be equally aggressive to conspecific i ndividuals and demonstrate The same bahavioral patterns. However, only in the social ones, interactions result in the formation of the stabl e system of social relationships. We suggested and experimentally test ed the hypothesis, that above mentioned differences are caused by grea ter striving for contacts with longer effect of these interactions on the behavior of partners in social species. The adult unfamiliar with each other males of jird Meriones vinogradovi (social) and gerbil Gerb illus perpallidus (solitary) were used in two series of experiments. A t the beginning of the placing on neutral territory, both species were aggressive. When the same pairs were joined again after 2-4-6-8 days, the level of aggression decreased as compared with the first day, mor e rapidly in jirds. in U-like labyrinth, jirds prefered the branch wit h a partner and gerbils - the empty one. The results confirm tile test ed hypothesis.