POTENTIAL STOCK DIFFERENCES IN THE SOCIAL-BEHAVIOR OF RATS IN A SITUATION OF RESTRICTED ACCESS TO FOOD

The social behavior of outbred Long-Evans (LE) and Wistar (WI) rats wa s compared in a situation where access to food was particularly diffic ult (clearing an aquatic barrier, plus the necessity of carrying the f ood back to the home cage). In groups of either six WI or LE rats, onl y about 50% of individuals carried the food, and the others survived b y attacking those that did. However, behavioral pro files associated w ith these acts were different in the two cases: LE carriers, contrary to WI carriers, restole some food, and LE noncarriers expressed more a gonistic behavior and were more often attacked than were the WI noncar riers. Food flow and all associated, interactive behaviors were more c omplex in the LE than in the WI rats, indicating the likelihood of pot ential genetic differences in this testing situation.