No Evidence for Avoidance of Black Rat Scent by the Presumably Less Competitive Natal Multimammate Mouse in a Choice Experiment

No Evidence for Avoidance of Black Rat Scent by the Presumably Less Competitive Natal Multimammate Mouse in a Choice Experiment

In Africa, indigenous multimammate mice (Mastomys natalensis) only appear to live commensally in houses when invasive black rats (Rattus rattus) are absent, yet little is known about the underlying mechanism. Avoidance through smell may cause the absence of M. natalensis from areas occupied by R. ra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African zoology Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 119 - 123
Main Authors: Cuypers, Laura N, Cuypers, Wim L, Gildemyn-Blomme, Amélie, Abraham, Laura, Aertbeliën, Senne, Massawe, Apia W, Borremans, Benny, Gryseels, Sophie, Leirs, Herwig
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Zoological Society of South Africa 03-04-2017
Taylor & Francis
NISC (Pty) Ltd
Subjects:
Choice experiment
Interspecific competition
Invasion biology
Odour preference
Scent avoidance
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Summary:In Africa, indigenous multimammate mice (Mastomys natalensis) only appear to live commensally in houses when invasive black rats (Rattus rattus) are absent, yet little is known about the underlying mechanism. Avoidance through smell may cause the absence of M. natalensis from areas occupied by R. rattus, but this hypothesis has not yet been tested. We conducted a Y-maze choice experiment where 15 M. natalensis were offered a choice between corridors containing conspecific scent, R. rattus scent and a control scent. Residence time in the R. rattus corridor was greater than that in the control corridor but equal to that in the M. natalensis corridor, suggesting that multimammate mice do not actively avoid the scent of their invasive competitor.
ISSN:1562-7020
2224-073X
DOI:10.1080/15627020.2017.1307139