Jl. Hurst et al., RESPONSE OF THE ABORIGINAL HOUSE MOUSE MUS-SPRETUS LATASTE TO TUNNELSBEARING THE ODORS OF CONSPECIFICS, Animal behaviour, 48(5), 1994, pp. 1219-1229
The behaviour of wild-caught Mus spretus towards tunnels previously oc
cupied by conspecifics, and to the conspecifics themselves, was examin
ed to test whether (1) willingness to investigate and enter tunnels co
rresponded to the predictions of territorial avoidance, and (2) exposu
re to substrate odours primed a defensive response to the odour's dono
r. Adult males and females were provided with a choice of a clean tunn
el versus one that had been occupied by themselves, by a conspecific f
rom the same, a neighbouring or a distant area, or by a woodmouse, Apo
demus sylvaticus. Mesh caps initially prevented tunnel entry while inv
estigation was measured, then they were removed to record choice of en
try. Subsequently, mice met the odour's donor in a neutral arena. Almo
st all aggression was between mice from different capture areas and af
filiative behaviour was between those from the same area. Conspecific
odours attracted more investigation than clean tunnels, although odour
investigation varied according to the subject and donor's sex and the
ir relative capture areas. Mice investigated then avoided entering a n
eighbour's tunnels, consistent with predictions of territorial avoidan
ce. Provided with conspecific odours from the same or a distant area v
ersus a clean tunnel, mice generally entered whichever tunnel they had
preferred investigating before the tunnels were opened. Regardless of
capture area, mice that entered a scented tunnel were significantly m
ore defensive on encountering the donor than those that entered clean
tunnels, especially towards female donors. This suggests that mice ent
ering an apparently occupied (scented) area were primed to display sub
missive behaviour towards a potentially dangerous resident.