Žampachová Barbora, Kaftanová Barbora, Šimánková Hana, Landová Eva, Frynta Daniel
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague.
J Comp Psychol. 2017 May;131(2):150-162. doi: 10.1037/com0000070. Epub 2017 Mar 20.
In a fluctuating environment, the optimal level of exploratory behavior depends on the proportion of current risks and benefits. The exploratory behavior is, therefore, often subjected to heterogenous selection. In populations of commensal rodents living in close proximity of humans, this pressure is further increased by pest management. We hypothesize that the black rat (Rattus rattus) responds to this pressure by either high behavioral flexibility or by development of personality types. The aim of this study was to analyze exploratory behavior and boldness of wild black rats and its changes over time to determine whether exploratory behavior is a personality trait in black rats. Studies on animals with unreduced variability are necessary for determination of normal range of behaviors. The behavior in the open field and hole board tests yielded 1 multivariate variable representing exploratory behavior and 1 representing boldness. The hole board test additionally provided an axis representing exploratory behavior. Exploratory behavior showed moderate to high repeatability, even though we observed a considerable effect of habituation. Exploratory behavior was also strongly correlated across contexts; therefore, our results suggest that the black rat responds to heterogenous selection pressure by developing personality types. We also found a strong effect of litter identity on some aspects of the exploratory behavior. Boldness was less repeatable, which we interpret as high behavioral flexibility in this behavioral trait. In concordance with our hypothesis, the personality types in exploratory behavior, but not in boldness, are possibly maintained by heterogenous selection pressure created by human pest management. (PsycINFO Database Record
在波动的环境中，探索行为的最佳水平取决于当前风险和收益的比例。因此，探索行为常常受到异质性选择。在与人类近距离生活的共生啮齿动物种群中，害虫管理进一步加剧了这种压力。我们假设黑家鼠（Rattus rattus）通过高度的行为灵活性或个性类型的发展来应对这种压力。本研究的目的是分析野生黑家鼠的探索行为和胆量及其随时间的变化，以确定探索行为是否是黑家鼠的一种个性特征。对于确定行为的正常范围而言，对具有未减少变异性的动物进行研究是必要的。旷场试验和洞板试验中的行为产生了1个代表探索行为的多变量变量和1个代表胆量的变量。洞板试验还提供了一个代表探索行为的轴。尽管我们观察到了习惯化的显著影响，但探索行为显示出中度到高度的重复性。探索行为在不同情境下也具有很强的相关性；因此，我们的结果表明黑家鼠通过发展个性类型来应对异质性选择压力。我们还发现窝别对探索行为的某些方面有很强的影响。胆量的重复性较低，我们将此解释为该行为特征具有较高的行为灵活性。与我们的假设一致，探索行为中的个性类型可能是由人类害虫管理产生的异质性选择压力维持的，而胆量方面则不然。（PsycINFO数据库记录）
