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Affiliation in the social interactions in captivity of the torch tail rat, Trinomys yonenagae (Rodentia: Echimyidae)

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Abstract

In a previous paper, we measured the affiliation between male individuals of Trinomys yonenagae and concluded that the intensity of affiliation was high and did not differ between animals from the same social group and from different social groups. In this paper, we report the results obtained with the same experimental procedure with female individuals. We also discuss sexual differences in the social interaction of this species. The experimental procedure was based on 40-min encounters between residents, which remained alone in an arena for 24 h, and introduced intruders, in a round-robin design. We quantified one variable indicative of activity level (number of squares crossed), one indicative of anxiety (time in marginal squares), three indicative of affiliation (number of physical contacts, mean distance between rodents, and total duration of physical contact), and the number of sound emissions. No aggressive behaviors were exhibited. The results indicate that there is a high level of affiliation mediated by acoustic communication both for males and females and that no anxiety is associated with social context, especially in females. The evolution of sociality in T. yonenagae was probably linked to an increase of tolerance especially among adult females. We also suggest that predation was a stronger selective pressure than resource availability in the evolution of sociality in this species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Erica Sena, Vitor Rios, and Roberta Pacheco Damasceno for helping with the keeping of the animals; Elisabeth Spinelli de Oliveira and Paulo Manaf for suggestions about the methodology employed in the research; José Wellington Alves dos Santos for critically appraising the manuscript; and the Foundation for Research Support of the State of Bahia (FAPESB) and the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq) for research grants and funding.

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  1. Terrestrial Vertebrates Laboratory, LVT, Federal University of Bahia, Rua Barão de Geremoabo, s/n, Ondina, Salvador, Bahia, CEP 40.170-290, Brazil

    Jorge Nei Silva de Freitas, Luciano Augusto da Silva Carvalho, Charbel Niño El-Hani & Pedro Luís Bernardo da Rocha

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  1. Jorge Nei Silva de Freitas
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  2. Luciano Augusto da Silva Carvalho
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  3. Charbel Niño El-Hani
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  4. Pedro Luís Bernardo da Rocha
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Correspondence to Pedro Luís Bernardo da Rocha.

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de Freitas, J.N.S., da Silva Carvalho, L.A., El-Hani, C.N. et al. Affiliation in the social interactions in captivity of the torch tail rat, Trinomys yonenagae (Rodentia: Echimyidae). J Ethol 28, 105–112 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-009-0161-0

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