Behavioural syndromes in Merriam's kangaroo rats (Dipodomys merriami): a test of competing hypotheses.

Aboveground Activity of Merriam's Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys merriami) in Relation to Sex and Reproduction

Range Use Patterns and Spatial Relationships of Merriam's Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys merriami)

Cache decision making: the effects of competition on cache decisions in Merriam's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami).

Caching food is an economic, decision-making process that requires animals to take many factors into account, including the risk of pilferage. However, little is known about how food-storing animals determine the risk of pilferage. In this study, the authors examined the effect of a dominant competitor species on the caching and behavior of Merriam's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys merriami). The autho...

Natural space-use patterns and hippocampal size in kangaroo rats.

The size of the hippocampus, a forebrain structure that processes spatial information, correlates with the need to relocate food caches by passerine birds and with sex-specific patterns of space use in microtine rodents. The influences on hippocampal anatomy of sexual selection within species, and natural selection between species, have not yet been studied in concert, however. Here we report t...

Behavioural modulation of predation risk: moonlight avoidance and crepuscular compensation in a nocturnal desert rodent, Dipodomys merriami

The temporal and spatial distribution of above-ground activity in Merriam's kangaroo rats, Dipodomys merriami, radio-tracked during 10 winters varied in relation to phases of the moon. At the full moon, animals were more likely to be found in their day burrows at scheduled hourly radio fixes, and when they emerged, they stayed closer to home. At partial moon phases, above-ground activity was pr...