哺乳期棕色田鼠对非亲缘幼仔的行为反应

通过观察产后2 日(L2)、6 日(L6)、10 日(L10)、14 日(L14)和20 日(L20)的棕色田鼠母鼠对2 日龄、6 日龄、10 日龄和14 日龄非亲缘幼仔的攻击行为和衔回行为,探讨了哺乳期棕色田鼠的母性行为与非亲缘幼仔的发育(日龄或个体大小)及母鼠产后时间的关系。结果表明,在哺乳前期(L2,L6),非亲缘幼仔的日龄大小显著影响母鼠的攻击行为(P < 0.05);在哺乳中期(L10,L14)及后期(L20),非亲缘幼仔的日龄对母鼠的攻击行为没有显著影响(P > 0. 05)。在整个哺乳期,母鼠对14 日龄非亲缘幼仔的攻击频次最高(P < 0.05)。产后不同时间的母鼠对同一日龄非亲缘幼仔的攻击频次没有显著差异(P > 0.05)。这些结果表明,哺乳期内的棕色田鼠对非亲缘幼仔的攻击与幼仔的发育有关,与母鼠的产后时间无关。

Behavioral response of lactating Mandarin voles exposed to alien pups

Lactating Mandarin voles (Lasiopodomys mandarinus) were exposed to alien pups of different ages,and aggression and retrieval behaviors of mandarin vole dams were observed during the lactation period at 2 days (L2),6 days (L6), 10 days (L10),14 days (L14)and 20 days (L20). During the early lactating period (L2,L6),attacking frequencies of dams toward alien pups with different ages was significantly different (P < 0.05),but this effect was not found during the mid (L14,L10) and late (L20)lactating periods (P >0. 05). Dams displayed more aggression toward 14-day-old alien pups throughout the lactating period (P < 0. 05),while attack behaviors of dams at different lactating times did not show significant differences while exposed to alien pups with the same age (P > 0.05). These results suggest that attacking behavior of dams to alien pups may be related to age of alien pups but not to lactating time of dams.