MODIFICATION OF FOOTDRUMMING SIGNATURES BY KANGAROO RATS - CHANGING TERRITORIES AND GAINING NEW NEIGHBORS

The banner-tailed kangaroo rat, Dipodomys spectabilis, advertises its territorial ownership with individual footdrumming signatures used in neighbour recognition. The aim of this study was to examine how social experience influences development of the footdrumming signatures of n ewly dispersed juveniles and older adults. Over 5000 footdrumming sign atures were recorded and analysed for 101 different animals over a 7-y ear period from 1986 to 1992 in which population densities fluctuated. During these years, the footdrumming signatures of individuals differ ed in structure within neighbourhoods, but those of non-neighbours ove rlapped when population densities were high. In general, the footdrumm ing signatures of juveniles varied more than adults, but both juvenile s and adults changed elements of the signal if they changed territorie s, which occurred more frequently at higher population densities. Kang aroo rats, therefore, can modify their footdrumming signatures over th eir lifetime in response to changes in the social environment. The rat that moves into a new neighbourhood adjusts its footdrumming signal t o differ from its new neighbours.