Abstract
A comparative study of mobility and anxiety of subadult flat-headed and Tuva silver voles in an open field test has been performed using arenas 50 and 63 cm in diameter. It is found that individuals of both species demonstrate higher movement speed and cover longer distances, both on the periphery and in general, on the larger arena. Interspecies behavioral differences have been identified only in the arena 63 cm in diameter. Subadult flat-headed voles demonstrate higher mobility and lower anxiety in the test compared to Tuva silver voles. Hypotheses pertaining to specific features of the ecology of the two species reflected in their behavior are proposed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blizard, D.A., Situational determinants of open field behavior in Mus musculus, Br. J. Psychol., 1971, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 245–252.
Budaev, S.V., “Personality” in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata): a correlational study of exploratory behavior and social tendency, J. Comp. Psychol., 1997, vol. 111, pp. 399–411.
Bures, J., Buresova, O., and Huston, J.P., Techniques and Basic Experiments for the Study of Brain and Behavior, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1983.
Eilam, D., Open field behavior withstands drastic changes in arena size, Behav. Brain Res., 2003, vol. 142, nos. 1–2, pp. 53–62.
Eilam, D., Dank, M., and Maurer, R., Voles scale locomotion to the size of the open field by adjusting the distance between stops: a possible link to path integration, Behav. Brain Res., 2003, vol. 141, no. 1, pp. 73–81.
Glotov, I.N., About finds of the Mongolian silver vole (Alticola argentatus semicanus Gl. Allen) on the territory of Soviet Union, Mater. vtorogo soveshchaniya zoologov Sibiri “Problemy zoologicheskikh issledovanii v Sibiri” (Proc. Second Conf. of Siberian Zoologists “The Problems in Zoological Studies in Siberia”), Gorno-Altaisk: Gorno-Altaisk. Knizhn. Izd., 1962, pp. 51–52.
Hall, C.S., Emotional behavior in the rat. I. Defecation and urination as measures of individual differences in emotionality, J. Comp. Psychol., 1934, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 385–403.
Hall, C.S., Emotional behavior in the rat. III. The relationship between emotionality and ambulatory activity, J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol., 1936, vol. 22, pp. 345–352.
Kalueff, A.V. and Tuohimaa, P., Contrasting grooming phenotypes in C57Bl/6 and 129S1/SvImJ mice, Brain Res., 2004, vol. 1028, no. 1, pp. 75–82.
Krsiak, M. and Janku, I., Measurement of pharmacological depression of exploratory activity in mice: a contribution to the problem of time economy and sensitivity, Psychopharmacology, 1971, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 118–130.
Lebedev, I.V., Pleskacheva, M.G., and Anokhin, K.V., Behavior analysis of mice C57BL/6 line in the areas of different-size open field, Zh. Vyssh. Nervn. Deyat. im. I.P. Pavlova, 2012, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 485–496.
Litvinov, Yu.N., Abramov, S.A., Lopatina, N.V., and Chertilina, O.V., Rock voles in communities of rodents of mountain landscapes of Siberia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, Vestn. Tversk. Gos. Univ., Ser. Biol. Ekol., 2014, no. 4, pp. 123–132.
Lopatina, N.V., Litvinov, Yu.N., and Abramov, S.A., Reproduction and early ontogenesis of the Tuva silver vole Alticola tuvinicus in the experimental conditions, X S”ezd teriologicheskogo obshchestva pri Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk “Teriofauna Rossii i sopredel’nykh territorii” (X Congr. of Theriological Society of the Russian Academy of Sciences “Theriofauna of Russia and Adjacent Territories”), Moscow: KMK, 2016, p. 231.
Markina, A.B. and Telegin, V.I., Some ecological observations of the mountain silver vole in Khakassia, Mater. vtorogo soveshchaniya zoologov Sibiri “Problemy zoologicheskikh issledovanii v Sibiri” (Proc. Second Conf. of Siberian Zoologists “The Problems in Zoological Studies in Siberia”), Gorno-Altaisk: Gorno-Altaisk. Knizhn. Izd., 1962, pp. 159–160.
Pavlinov, I.Ya., Sistematika sovremennykh mlekopitayushchikh (Systematics of Modern Mammals), Moscow: Mosk. Gos. Univ., 2006.
Pokrovskii, A.V. and Bol’shakov, V.N., Eksperimental’naya ekologiya polevok (Experimental Ecology of Voles), Moscow: Nauka, 1979.
Shubin, I.G., Ecology of the Strelzow’s mountain vole in Kazakh upland, Tr. Inst. Zool., Akad. Nauk KazakhSSR, 1959, vol. 10, pp. 87–113.
Spruijt, B.M., van Hooff, J.A., and Gispen, W.H., Ethology and neurobiology of grooming behavior, Physiol. Rev., 1992, vol. 72, pp. 825–852.
Vigorov, Yu.L., Use of behavioral experiment for differentiation of intraspecific and species forms of stone voles, in Kolichestvennye metody v ekologii zhivotnykh (Quantitative Methods in Ecology of Animals), Pesenko, Yu.A., Ed., Leningrad: Inst. Zool., Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1980, pp. 32–34.
Vigorov, Yu.L., Specific behavior of small rodents in Eurasian mountains, Mater. mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii “Ekologicheskie problemy gornykh territorii,” 18–20 iyunya 2002 g. (Proc. Inst. Sci. Conf. “Ecological Problems of Mountainous Territories,” June 18–20, 2002), Yekaterinburg, 2002, pp. 146–149.
Walsh, R.N. and Cummins, R.A., The open field test: a critical review, Psychol. Bull., 1976, vol. 83, no. 3, pp. 482–504.
Wilson, D.S., Coleman, K., Clark, A.B., and Biederman, L., Shy-bold continuum in pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus): an ecological study of a psychological trait, J. Comp. Psychol., 1993, vol. 107, no. 3, pp. 250–260.
Wolf, M., van Doorn, G.S., Leimar, O., and Weissing, F.J., Life-history trade-off favor the evolution of animal personalities, Nature, 2007, vol. 447, no. 7144, pp. 581–584.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zadubrovskiy, P.A., Stepanova, A.V., Lopatina, N.V. et al. Behavior of subadult mountain voles of two species (Alticola strelzowi and A. tuvinicus) in the open field test. Contemp. Probl. Ecol. 10, 224–229 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995425517030118
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995425517030118