RESPONSES TO ODORS OF DOMINANT AND SUBORDINATE HOUSE MICE (MUS-DOMESTICUS) IN LIVE TRAPS AND RESPONSES TO ODORS IN LIVE TRAPS BY DOMINANT AND SUBORDINATE MALES

Data from 16 0.1-ha field enclosures containing populations of wild ho use mice (Mus domesticus) were used to test two sets of questions. Do mice respond differentially to odors from dominant and subordinate mal es in live traps? Do dominant and subordinate males respond differenti ally to odors in live traps from other mice? A trap was considered odo rized if it had captured a mouse during the previous week, during whic h there were always two trapping nights. Dominant and subordinate male s did not differ with respect to the time they were alive in the enclo sures, the frequency of capture, or home range size. Overall, mice wer e more attracted to the odor of dominant males compared to subordinate males. This difference was due primarily to the attraction of estrous and juvenile females to the traps odorized by dominant males. Dominan t males were more likely to be captured in traps odorized by estrous f emales than in traps odorized by juvenile males or females, nonestrous females, or pregnant/lactating females. Subordinate males were caught more frequently in traps odorized by dominant males than were other d ominant males. Conversely, dominant males were captured more frequentl y in traps odorized by subordinate males than were other subordinate m ales. Rates of capture of self-odor were higher for subordinate than f or dominant males. The results may be explained by a combination of fa ctors related to the social and reproduction systems of house mice.