Browsing by Author "Hughes, N. K."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Does exploratory behavior or activity in a wild mouse explain susceptibility to virus infection?
(Current Zoology, 2017) Broecke, B. V.; Borremans, B.; Mariën, J.; Makundi, R. H .; Massawe, A. W.; Hughes, N. K.; Leirsa, H.
Exploration and activity are often described as trade-offs between the fitness benefits of gathering information and resources, and the potential costs of increasing exposure to predators and parasites. More exploratory individuals are predicted to have higher rates of parasitism, but this relationship has rarely been examined for virus infections in wild populations. Here, we used the multimammate mouse Mastomys natalensis to investigate the relationship between exploration, activity, and infection with Morogoro virus (MORV). We characterized individual exploratory behavior (open field and novel object tests) and activity (trap diversity), and quantified the relationship between these traits and infection status using linear regression. We found that M. natalensis expresses consistent individual differences, or personality types, in exploratory behavior (repeatability of 0.30, 95% CI: 0.21–0.36). In addition, we found a significant contrasting effect of age on exploration and activity where juveniles display higher exploration levels than adults, but lower field-activity. There was however no statistical evidence for a behavioral syndrome between these 2 traits. Contrary to our expectations, we found no correlation between MORV infection status and exploratory behavior or activity, which suggests that these behaviors may not increase exposure probability to MORV infection. This would further imply that variation in viral infection between individuals is not affected by between-individual variation in exploration and activity.
Happily together forever: temporal variation in spatial patterns and complete lack of territoriality in a promiscuous rodent
(2013-08-31) Borremans, B.; Hughes, N. K.; Reijniers, J.; Sluydts, V.; Katakweba, A. A. S.; Mulungu, Loth S.; Sabuni, C. A; Makundi, Rhodes H.; Leirs, H.
The availability of resources, their effect on population density and territoriality, and the ways in which these factors are interwoven with mating systems are important determinants of small mammal space use. It is often difficult to study these patterns in an integrated way, however, especially because long-term data are needed but not readily available. In this paper, we investigate effects of population density, season and breeding status on home range patterns of the promiscuous rodent Mastomys natalensis using monthly capture-mark-recapture data collected over 17 years in a 3-ha grid. Home ranges were estimated using minimum convex polygons bounded by trap locations, and home range overlap and visitation rates were calculated as a measure of territoriality. As higher population densities coincide with increased resource availability, we predicted that home range sizes would correlate negatively with density. Furthermore, as M. natalensis is promiscuous and population densities are generally high, we predicted that territoriality would be low, and home range overlap would therefore be high. Contrary to expectations the home ranges of female adults increased with population density, although those of male adults and subadults followed the expected decrease. Home range overlap and visitation rates were generally high, and increased significantly with population density. More importantly, they were never lower than those of simulated datasets consisting of randomly moved home ranges. These results therefore suggest that M. natalensis displays a complete lack of territoriality that is rarely seen in small mammals but still meets predictions based on knowledge of density and mating system.
Happily together forever: temporal variation in spatial patterns and complete lack of territoriality in a promiscuous rodent
(The Society of Population Ecology and Springer Japan, 2014-01) Borremans, B.; Hughes, N. K.; Reijniers, J.; Sluydts, V.; Katakweba, A. A. S.; Mulungu, Loth S.; Sabuni, C. A.; Makundi, Rhodes H.; Leirs, H.
The availability of resources, their effect on population density and territoriality, and the ways in which these factors are interwoven with mating systems are important determinants of small mammal space use. It is often difﬁcult to study these patterns in an integrated way, however, especially because long-term data are needed but not readily available. In this paper, we investigate effects of population density, season and breeding status on home range patterns of the promiscuous rodent Mastomys natalensis using monthly capture-mark-recapture data collected over 17 years in a 3-ha grid. Home ranges were estimated using minimum convex polygons bounded by trap locations, and home range overlap and visitation rates were calculated as a measure of territoriality. As higher population densities coincide with increased resource availability, we predicted that home range sizes would correlate negatively with density. Furthermore, as M. natalensis is promiscuous and population densities are generally high, we predicted that territoriality would be low, and home range overlap would therefore be high. Contrary to expectations the home ranges of female adults increased with population density, although those of male adults and subadults followed the expected decrease. Home range overlap and visitation rates were generally high, and increased signiﬁcantly with population density. More importantly, they were never lower than those of simulated datasets consisting of randomly moved home ranges. These results therefore suggest that M. natalensis displays a complete lack of territoriality that is rarely seen in small mammals but still meets predictions based on knowledge of density and mating system.