@article {KNZ00658,
	title = {Influence of maternal diet and perishability on caching and consumption behavior of juvenile eastern woodrats},
	journal = {Journal of Mammalogy},
	volume = {79},
	year = {1998},
	pages = {156 -162},
	abstract = {We tested the hypotheses that juvenile eastern woodrats (Neotoma floridana) learned to select appropriate foods to cache by cues from the maternal diet and that the effect of perishability affected caching and consumption behavior of juvenile woodrats. In May 1993, female woodrats were mated and placed on a diet of garlic-flavored chow. Females in group A were fed garlic-flavored chow until offspring were weaned. Females in group B were fed garlic-flavored chow until parturition and then were placed on a diet of standard laboratory chow. All offspring were weaned at 45 days postpartum and maintained on a diet of standard laboratory chow. In October and November 1993, juveniles were tested to determine their preference for caching and consumption of garlic-flavored chow or a novel (mint) flavored chow. Juveniles in group A cached more garlic-flavored chow than juveniles in group B (P = 0.04). There was no difference between groups in the amount of garlic chow consumed (P = 0.5). Naive juveniles preferred to cache dry apple (P = 0.01) but preferred to consume fresh apple (P = 0.01). The outcome of our experiments suggests that maternal diet influences the cache-food selection of naive woodrats. Further, naive juvenile woodrats treat perishable and non-perishable foods in a manner similar to adults suggesting that their response to such foods is not learned.},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ, caching, diet, juveniles, learning, Neotoma floridana, woodrats},
	doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1382850 },
	author = {Post, D.M. and McDonald, M.W. and Reichman, O.J.}
}
@article {KNZ00513,
	title = {Antimicrobial activity of dogwood fruits (Cornus drummondii) from winter food caches of the eastern woodrat (Neotoma floridana )},
	journal = {Journal of Chemical Ecology},
	volume = {21},
	year = {1995},
	pages = {419 -425},
	abstract = {Post-harvest loss of resources to microbial competitors affects a number of species of animals, and many of them have evolved behaviors that reduce the likelihood of such loss. We previously described the inhibition ofBacillus psychrophilus by dogwood fruits (Cornus drummondii), which can comprise a significant portion of the winter food cache of the eastern woodrat (Neotoma floridana). The present study is a further investigation of the ability of dogwood fruits to inhibit growth ofB. psychrophilus. Additionally, we tested the antimicrobial activity of dogwood fruits onEscherichia coli andStaphlococcus aureus. Results of our study indicate that fresh fruits inhibit the growth ofB. psychrophilus andS. aureus but notE. coli. However, fruits taken from woodrat dens after four and six months storage inhibited growth of all three species of bacteria. Further, the strength of inhibition increased over the test period. We suggest the presence of an inhibitor allows woodrats to compete effectively for a valuable and limited food resource.},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ, antimicrobial activity, Bacillus psychrophilus, caching, Cornus drummondii, dogwood fruit, eastern woodrat, Escherichia coli, Neotoma floridana, Staphlococcus aureus},
	doi = {10.1007/BF02036739},
	author = {Post, D.M. and Urban, J.E.}
}
@article {KNZ00423,
	title = {Characteristics and significance of the caches of eastern woodrats (Neotoma floridana )},
	journal = {Journal of Mammalogy},
	volume = {74},
	year = {1993},
	pages = {688 -692},
	abstract = {Caches from eastern woodrat (Neotoma floridana) dens were analyzed for plant-species composition, abundance, and energy content. Body mass and sex of den residents and the den volume were measured to determine correlations with energy content of caches. We found no difference between males and females in den volume or energy content of caches. However, a positive correlation existed between body mass of the cache owner and the amount of energy stored in the cache, such that larger individuals had a disproportionately greater reserve of energy stored in caches than did smaller individuals. The disparity suggests that small individuals are forced to forage outside the den more often than large individuals.},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ, caching, dens, eastern woodrats, energy, food storage, Neotoma floridana},
	doi = {10.2307/1382290},
	author = {Post, D.M. and Reichman, O.J. and Wooster, D.}
}
