Scatter-hoarding rodents play important roles in plant regeneration and species coexistence in many forest ecosys-tems.Cache pilferage,the behavior of rodents seeking or relocating seeds cached by other individuals,is...Scatter-hoarding rodents play important roles in plant regeneration and species coexistence in many forest ecosys-tems.Cache pilferage,the behavior of rodents seeking or relocating seeds cached by other individuals,is ubiquitous during the scatter-hoarding process.The effects of canopy openness on cache pilferage have received considerable attention,most of which have focused on the comparison between full canopy cover and completely open ar-eas,such as forest gaps.However,little attention has been given to whether the subtle variation in forest canopy openness affects cache pilferage,although subtle variation in light environments exists in many forests,especially tropical and subtropical forests,where the overall canopy is large and the forest window is relatively small.Here,we directly tested these questions by simulating 400 artificial caches,each containing one seed from four selected tree species,in a subtropical forest in southwestern China.The overall canopy openness of the forest was rela-tively small(with a mean value of 11.1%),but subtle spatial variation still existed(ranging from 5.7%to 19.5%).Overall,caches with lower canopy openness were more likely to be pilfered and removed faster,although not all species showed the same pattern.Our study highlights that subtle variation in forest canopy openness,even in a closed primary forest,has significant effects on cache pilferage by rodents,which may influence the following seed germination and forest regeneration processes.Additionally,seedling species composition may further be altered because the canopy effects on cache pilferage are species-specific.展开更多
In the struggle for survival,scatter-hoarding rodents are known to cache food and pilfer the caches of others.The extent to which rodents utilize auditory/visual cues from conspecifics to improve cache-pilfering is un...In the struggle for survival,scatter-hoarding rodents are known to cache food and pilfer the caches of others.The extent to which rodents utilize auditory/visual cues from conspecifics to improve cache-pilfering is unknown.Here,Siberian chipmunks(Tamias sibiricus)were allowed to search for caches of Corylus heterophylla seeds(man-made caches and animal-made caches)after experiencing cues from a conspecific’s cache-searching events.For each type of cache,3 experimental scenarios were presented:(1)alone(control);(2)auditory/visual(hearing and seeing conspecific’s cache-searching events);and(3)auditory only(hearing conspecific’s cache-searching events only)with random orders.The subjects located man-made caches faster,harvested more caches,and hoarded more seeds both in the auditory/visual and the auditory only treatments compared to the control,while scatter-hoarding more seeds in the auditory/visual treatment but larder-hoarding more seeds in the auditory only treatment.Compared to the control,the animals spent less time locating animal-made caches,harvested more caches,ate fewer seeds,larder-hoarded more seeds and hoarded more seeds in total both in the auditory/visual and the auditory only treatments,while eating more seeds and hoarded fewer seeds in total in the auditory only treatment than in the auditory/visual treatment.The results also show that females spent less time locating the animal-made caches,but they scatter-hoarded fewer seeds than males in the auditory/visual treatment.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first report that visual and/or auditory cues of conspecifics improve cache-pilfering and hoarding in rodents.展开更多
Although it has been suggested that olfaction is closely interconnected with hippocampal systems,whether olfaction regulates spatial memory strategy remains never known.Furthermore,no study has examined how olfaction ...Although it has been suggested that olfaction is closely interconnected with hippocampal systems,whether olfaction regulates spatial memory strategy remains never known.Furthermore,no study has examined how olfaction mediates spatial memory established on the external objects,for example,caches made by scatter-hoarding animals.Here,we experimentally induced nondestructive and reversible olfaction loss of a scatter-hoarding animal Leopoldamys edwardsi,to test whether and how olfaction regulates spatial memory to mediate cache recovery and pilferage.Our results showed that the normal L.edwardsi preferred to pilfer caches of others rather than to recover their own using accurate spatial memory(35.7%vs.18.6%).Anosmic L.edwardsi preferred to recover the caches they made prior to olfaction loss rather than to pilfer from others relied on spatial memory(54.2%vs.36.0%).However,L.edwardsi with anosmia showed no preference either to the caches they established after olfaction loss or caches made by others(25.8%vs.29.1%).These collectively indicate that olfaction loss has a potential to affect new memory formation but not previously established spatial memory on caches.Our study first showed that olfaction modified spatial memory strategy in cache recovery and pilferage behaviors of scatter-hoarding animals.We suggest that future studies pay more attention to the evolution of olfaction and its relationship with spatial memory strategy.展开更多
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32171533 and 31971444)the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation(2208085J28).
文摘Scatter-hoarding rodents play important roles in plant regeneration and species coexistence in many forest ecosys-tems.Cache pilferage,the behavior of rodents seeking or relocating seeds cached by other individuals,is ubiquitous during the scatter-hoarding process.The effects of canopy openness on cache pilferage have received considerable attention,most of which have focused on the comparison between full canopy cover and completely open ar-eas,such as forest gaps.However,little attention has been given to whether the subtle variation in forest canopy openness affects cache pilferage,although subtle variation in light environments exists in many forests,especially tropical and subtropical forests,where the overall canopy is large and the forest window is relatively small.Here,we directly tested these questions by simulating 400 artificial caches,each containing one seed from four selected tree species,in a subtropical forest in southwestern China.The overall canopy openness of the forest was rela-tively small(with a mean value of 11.1%),but subtle spatial variation still existed(ranging from 5.7%to 19.5%).Overall,caches with lower canopy openness were more likely to be pilfered and removed faster,although not all species showed the same pattern.Our study highlights that subtle variation in forest canopy openness,even in a closed primary forest,has significant effects on cache pilferage by rodents,which may influence the following seed germination and forest regeneration processes.Additionally,seedling species composition may further be altered because the canopy effects on cache pilferage are species-specific.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grand Nos 31772471 and 31760156)the self-determined research funds of CCNU from the colleges’basic research and operation of MOE(CCNU17A02017).
文摘In the struggle for survival,scatter-hoarding rodents are known to cache food and pilfer the caches of others.The extent to which rodents utilize auditory/visual cues from conspecifics to improve cache-pilfering is unknown.Here,Siberian chipmunks(Tamias sibiricus)were allowed to search for caches of Corylus heterophylla seeds(man-made caches and animal-made caches)after experiencing cues from a conspecific’s cache-searching events.For each type of cache,3 experimental scenarios were presented:(1)alone(control);(2)auditory/visual(hearing and seeing conspecific’s cache-searching events);and(3)auditory only(hearing conspecific’s cache-searching events only)with random orders.The subjects located man-made caches faster,harvested more caches,and hoarded more seeds both in the auditory/visual and the auditory only treatments compared to the control,while scatter-hoarding more seeds in the auditory/visual treatment but larder-hoarding more seeds in the auditory only treatment.Compared to the control,the animals spent less time locating animal-made caches,harvested more caches,ate fewer seeds,larder-hoarded more seeds and hoarded more seeds in total both in the auditory/visual and the auditory only treatments,while eating more seeds and hoarded fewer seeds in total in the auditory only treatment than in the auditory/visual treatment.The results also show that females spent less time locating the animal-made caches,but they scatter-hoarded fewer seeds than males in the auditory/visual treatment.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first report that visual and/or auditory cues of conspecifics improve cache-pilfering and hoarding in rodents.
基金provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32070447,31760156)the Young Talents Invitation Program of Shandong Provincial Colleges and Universities(20190601)。
文摘Although it has been suggested that olfaction is closely interconnected with hippocampal systems,whether olfaction regulates spatial memory strategy remains never known.Furthermore,no study has examined how olfaction mediates spatial memory established on the external objects,for example,caches made by scatter-hoarding animals.Here,we experimentally induced nondestructive and reversible olfaction loss of a scatter-hoarding animal Leopoldamys edwardsi,to test whether and how olfaction regulates spatial memory to mediate cache recovery and pilferage.Our results showed that the normal L.edwardsi preferred to pilfer caches of others rather than to recover their own using accurate spatial memory(35.7%vs.18.6%).Anosmic L.edwardsi preferred to recover the caches they made prior to olfaction loss rather than to pilfer from others relied on spatial memory(54.2%vs.36.0%).However,L.edwardsi with anosmia showed no preference either to the caches they established after olfaction loss or caches made by others(25.8%vs.29.1%).These collectively indicate that olfaction loss has a potential to affect new memory formation but not previously established spatial memory on caches.Our study first showed that olfaction modified spatial memory strategy in cache recovery and pilferage behaviors of scatter-hoarding animals.We suggest that future studies pay more attention to the evolution of olfaction and its relationship with spatial memory strategy.
