How to explore a new environment: exploratory tactics of the black rat (Rattus rattus)

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11310%2F24%3A10495584" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11310/24:10495584 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=qb1-M3aTHr" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=qb1-M3aTHr</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoae015" target="_blank" >10.1093/cz/zoae015</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

How to explore a new environment: exploratory tactics of the black rat (Rattus rattus)

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

The black rat (Rattus rattus) is a unique model for studying exploratory tactics due to its enormous colonizing potential. Considerable behavioral variability and consistent interindividual differences might help populations inhabit new environments and persist there even under intense pressure. Additionally, the affinity of the black rat for climbing might be another advantage, widening their potential niche. In this study, we describe the exploratory tactics of the black rats when introduced to a novel environment. In the first experiment, we tested 12 rats and calculated repeatability of their behaviors across 12 sessions of an enriched open-field test. We concluded that climbing is a highly repeatable behavior that serves as an important source of interindividual variability. In the second experiment, we tested 24 black rats in a unique L-shaped arena. Each rat was tested twice. We found that the majority of rats distributed their activity evenly, exploring each part of the apparatus for a similar amount of time, thus maximizing their chances of finding resources. Nevertheless, these &quot;even&quot; explorers still greatly differed in their level of activity, orderliness and affinity for climbing, generating large variability. In contrast, the minority of rats concentrated their activity only on a section of the new environment and were therefore characterized as selective explorers. Overall, we concluded that a combination of such exploratory tactics as well as a bias for even explorers enables black rats to quickly colonize new environments and persist there even under unfavorable conditions.

Název v anglickém jazyce

How to explore a new environment: exploratory tactics of the black rat (Rattus rattus)

Popis výsledku anglicky

The black rat (Rattus rattus) is a unique model for studying exploratory tactics due to its enormous colonizing potential. Considerable behavioral variability and consistent interindividual differences might help populations inhabit new environments and persist there even under intense pressure. Additionally, the affinity of the black rat for climbing might be another advantage, widening their potential niche. In this study, we describe the exploratory tactics of the black rats when introduced to a novel environment. In the first experiment, we tested 12 rats and calculated repeatability of their behaviors across 12 sessions of an enriched open-field test. We concluded that climbing is a highly repeatable behavior that serves as an important source of interindividual variability. In the second experiment, we tested 24 black rats in a unique L-shaped arena. Each rat was tested twice. We found that the majority of rats distributed their activity evenly, exploring each part of the apparatus for a similar amount of time, thus maximizing their chances of finding resources. Nevertheless, these &quot;even&quot; explorers still greatly differed in their level of activity, orderliness and affinity for climbing, generating large variability. In contrast, the minority of rats concentrated their activity only on a section of the new environment and were therefore characterized as selective explorers. Overall, we concluded that a combination of such exploratory tactics as well as a bias for even explorers enables black rats to quickly colonize new environments and persist there even under unfavorable conditions.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

10613 - Zoology

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Rok uplatnění

2024

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Current Zoology

ISSN

1674-5507

e-ISSN

2396-9814

Svazek periodika

70

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

3

Stát vydavatele periodika

CN - Čínská lidová republika

Počet stran výsledku

12

Strana od-do

371-382

Kód UT WoS článku

001205204500001

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-85199208870