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Whole-day follows of striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio), a diurnal murid rodent

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Abstract

Understanding mammal social systems and behaviour can best be achieved through observations of individuals in their natural habitat. This can often be achieved for large mammals, but indirect methods have usually been employed for small mammals. I performed observations of the striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) during the breeding season in the succulent karoo, a desert of South Africa. The open habitat and the diurnal habit of striped mice, together with the use of radio-telemetry, made it possible to collect data on activity patterns and social interactions over an entire activity period (whole-day follow). The striped mouse in the succulent karoo has been reported to form groups of one breeding male, two to four breeding females, juvenile and adult offspring of both sexes, and several litters. Accordingly, daily range size did not differ between males and females, but females spent more time foraging whereas males spent more time patrolling territory boundaries. Captive R. pumilio display biparental care, and in this study both sexes visited the nesting site during the day, possibly engaging in parental care. Mice travelled more than 900 m/day, mainly during the morning and afternoon, and rested in bushes during the hottest times of the day.

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Acknowledgments

I thank Northern Cape Conservation for their assistance with my work and K. van Zyl, E. Oosthuysen and their staff at Goegap Nature Reserve for their support during the study. M. Schubert assisted greatly during this study, performing half of the follows. I am grateful to comments by N. Pillay, J. Fietz and two anonymous referees who helped to improve the manuscript significantly. N. Pillay corrected the English. This study was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Naturwissenschaften, the Zürcher Universitätsverein (FAN), and the University of the Witwatersrand.

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  1. Ecophysiological Studies Research Group, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Carsten Schradin

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Correspondence to Carsten Schradin.

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Schradin, C. Whole-day follows of striped mice (Rhabdomys pumilio), a diurnal murid rodent. J Ethol 24, 37–43 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-005-0158-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-005-0158-2

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