围栏条件下社鼠的食物贮藏行为

在北京东灵山地区, 用活捕笼从野外捕获社鼠, 并在野外建造围栏, 以山杏种子和辽东栎坚果为备选食物, 对围栏条件下社鼠的食物贮藏行为进行了研究。数据的统计分析采用SPSS for Windows (version 1010) 进行。结果表明: 1) 社鼠主要表现出食物的集中贮藏方式; 2) 贮藏食物被模拟盗窃使社鼠的食物贮藏活动加强; 3)社鼠倾向于选择山杏种子进行贮藏, 而对辽东栎坚果则取食较多。文中还讨论了食物类型、模拟盗窃等因素对社鼠食物贮藏行为的影响。

Food Hoarding Behavior of Chinese White-bellied Rat (Niviventor confucianus)

Food hoarding is a key adaptation for many species to survive periods of food shortage. The Chinese white-bellied rat ( Niviventor confucianus) is widely distributed in the temperate zone in China, but food hoarding behavior of this species is almost unknown. We investigated food hoarding behavior of white-bellied rats by providing them with wild apricot ( Prunus armeniaca) seeds and Liaodong oak ( Quercus liaotungensis) acorns within enclosures (L ×W ×H = 4 × 3 × 1 m) in the Dongling Mountains (40°00′N , 115°30′E), Mentougou District, Beijing. We found that 1) Chinese white-bellied rats hoarded food in larders, 2) simulated pilfering of stored food stimulated rats to hoard more food items, and 3) Chinese white-bellied rats selected wild apricot seeds for hoarding, and consumed more Liaodong oak acorns in the short term. We discuss possible factors influencing food hoarding behavior in this species.