Dobly A, Rozenfeld F M, Haim A
Behavioural Biology of Mammals, Free University of Brussels (ULB), Belgium.
J Chem Ecol. 2001 Oct;27(10):1953-61. doi: 10.1023/a:1012230601494.
The common spiny mice Acomys dimidiatus and golden spiny mice Acomys russatus coexist in the extreme warm and dry parts of the Rift Valley in Israel. However, they are temporally segregated in that the former is nocturnal, whereas the latter is diurnal. Daily rhythms of physiological and behavioral variables in A. russatus responded to semiochemical signals released by A. dimidiatus (in the urine and feces). Both species feed upon the same food items but at different times of the 24-hr cycle. The main aim of the present study was to test under field conditions the foraging response of A. russatus to odors of different ages released by A. dimidiatus. Various feeding and behavioral variables were compared in three groups of A. russatus. The results show that fresh semiochemical signals released by A. dimidiatus decrease the feeding efficiency and increase the rate of smelling from a distance in A. russatus. These results support the idea that temporal segregation between the two coexisting species is at least partly through semiochemicals present in the urine and feces.
普通刺毛鼠（Acomys dimidiatus）和金刺毛鼠（Acomys russatus）共同生活在以色列裂谷极端温暖干燥的地区。然而，它们在时间上是隔离的，前者是夜行性的，而后者是昼行性的。金刺毛鼠的生理和行为变量的日常节律对普通刺毛鼠（尿液和粪便中）释放的信息化学物质信号有反应。这两个物种都以相同的食物为食，但在24小时周期的不同时间进食。本研究的主要目的是在野外条件下测试金刺毛鼠对普通刺毛鼠释放的不同年龄气味的觅食反应。在三组金刺毛鼠中比较了各种进食和行为变量。结果表明，普通刺毛鼠释放的新鲜信息化学物质信号会降低金刺毛鼠的进食效率，并提高其远距离嗅闻的频率。这些结果支持了这样一种观点，即这两种共存物种之间的时间隔离至少部分是通过尿液和粪便中存在的信息化学物质实现的。
