THE INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL PATHS AND LANDMARKS ON THE FORAGING BEHAVIOR OF NORWAY RATS (RATTUS-NORVEGICUS)

In two experiments, we explored how the foraging behavior of Norway ra ts was influenced by different arrangements of artificial paths and ve rtical landmarks. The rats used the paths successively less for orient ing to food in treatments in which paths led to food but were crooked, in which paths led only halfway to food, and in which paths were misa ligned with respect to food. The arrangement of paths influenced the r ats' rate of energy intake in the beginning of the experiment, whereas the arrangement of beacons did not With experience, the rats employed different orientation strategies in the presence of different arrange ments of paths or beacons, and, by the final 4 days, all groups achiev ed statistically indistinguishable net rates of return. The rates of e nergy intake were similar because the rats in different treatments tra veled similar distances per session, despite differing arrangements of paths and landmarks.