%0 Journal Article %J Journal of Mammalogy %D 1989 %T Use of fluorescent pigments to study social interactions in a small nocturnal rodent, Peromyscus maniculatus %A Kaufman, G.A. %X

Social interactions within free-living populations of small mammals are poorly known wityh exception of some diuranal rodents such as the ground- dwelling sciurids. The ease of observing diurnal species in contrast to nocturnal ones accounts for differences in availability of data. Many investigators have inferred social interactions in nocturnal rodents from captures of conspecifics in single-catch live traps. However, it is difficult to know whether these data represent social interactions (social traveling where two individuals enter the trap simultaneously); or trapping bias (intensive traps that require the weight of two individuals to activate the trigger mechanism. Even if multiple captures reflect social interactions among individuals, rareness of records makes it desirable to find other methods for studying social behavior in nocturnal rodents. Herein, I describe a technique for assessing social interactions in nocturnal rodents under field conditions. The technique, which uses transfer of flourescent pigments to ascertain which individuals have interacted during the night, was tested with the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus)

%B Journal of Mammalogy %V 70 %P 171 -174 %G eng %M KNZ00241 %R 10.2307/1381682