Birke L I, D'Udine B, Albonetti M E
Behav Neural Biol. 1985 Mar;43(2):143-61. doi: 10.1016/s0163-1047(85)91337-8.
The exploratory behavior of two species of murid rodents, Acomys cahirinus and Mus musculus, was compared in four experiments: In the first, the responses of the two species to a novel arena were studied. Mus was found to take longer to enter the arena, and to spend more time in the relatively familiar or safer start box, than was Acomys. The results suggest that Acomys may persevere longer in exploring particular areas, whereas Mus appear to explore in the open arena by using frequent shifts of attention. The second experiment investigated species differences in response to the addition of a small novel object. Although the species did respond differently, the major species differences seemed to be related more to the open arena than to the object. The third experiment tested the hypothesis that both species would explore more if there was somewhere to hide (e.g., an artificial burrow) than if there was not. It was found that Acomys treated the available artificial burrow as another novel object, while Mus, as predicted, spent more time hiding inside it than did Acomys. The fourth experiment investigated burrow use when a model "predator" was introduced: Both species increased their use of the burrow but some species differences were found. Mus responded to the model more by freezing, or running immediately into the burrow; Acomys responded more by fleeing.
在四项实验中比较了两种鼠科啮齿动物（埃及刺毛鼠和小家鼠）的探索行为：在第一项实验中，研究了这两种动物对新环境的反应。发现小家鼠比埃及刺毛鼠花费更长时间进入环境，并且在相对熟悉或更安全的起始箱中停留更长时间。结果表明，埃及刺毛鼠在探索特定区域时可能会坚持更长时间，而小家鼠似乎通过频繁转移注意力在开放环境中进行探索。第二项实验研究了对添加一个小型新物体的反应中的物种差异。尽管这两个物种的反应确实不同，但主要的物种差异似乎更多地与开放环境有关，而不是与物体有关。第三项实验检验了这样一个假设，即如果有藏身之处（例如人工洞穴），两种物种都会比没有时探索得更多。结果发现，埃及刺毛鼠将可用的人工洞穴视为另一个新物体，而小家鼠正如所预测的那样，比埃及刺毛鼠在里面藏身的时间更长。第四项实验研究了引入模型“捕食者”时对洞穴的使用情况：两种物种都增加了对洞穴的使用，但发现了一些物种差异。小家鼠对模型的反应更多是静止不动，或者立即跑入洞穴；埃及刺毛鼠的反应更多是逃跑。
