Tugging contests reveal feeding hierarchies in naked mole-rat colonies

Article Abstract:

A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between social status and reproductive ability in a population of naked mole-rats based on their feeding behavior. Dominance was estbalished by observing the animals during tugging bouts, or periods when two colonies competed for the same food. Rats which walked away with the food were considered dominant, while reprodutives were determined by measuring the weight of each rat. Those which had heavier weight were considered more reproductive than the lightweight rats. The results indicated that heavier rats achieved dominance in the colonies, regardless of their sex age.

Social behavior in animals, Animal social behavior, Agonistic behavior in animals, Animal agonistic behavior, Naked mole rat

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Naked mole-rats recruit colony mates to food sources

Article Abstract:

Naked mole rats, Heterocephalus glaber, follow the pathway of a colony mate to get acquainted with a new food source. The rats are eusocial, subterranean rodents inhabiting the arid regions of north eastern Africa. They prefer to use tunnels which have been used recently to another alternative pathway. The mole rats distinguish between the tunnels through which the scouts carry the food and the ones the colony mates carry the same food. The mole rats follow the odour trails. There are many similarities between the foraging recruitment of the mole rats and other insects and vertebrates.

Food, Odors, African mole rats

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Intraspecific parasitism and nest-site competition in wood ducks

Article Abstract:

Research is presented concerning the adaptive significance and behavioral mechanisms of intraspecific brood parasitism by 103 wood ducks. The factors which influence the occurrence of parasitism are discussed.

Birds, Ducks, Bird eggs, Bird nests, Parasitism

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