Way-marking behaviour: an aid to spatial navigation in the wood mouse (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apodemus sylvaticus</Emphasis>) |
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Authors: | Pavel?Stopka Email author" target="_blank">David?W?MacdonaldEmail author |
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Institution: | (1) Biodiversity Research Group, Department of Zoology, Charles University, Vinicna, 7 Prague, 2, Czech Republic;(2) Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK |
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Abstract: | Background During their movements in the wild, wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) distribute small objects, such as leaves or twigs, which are often visually conspicuous. Our experiments demonstrate that
these marks serve as points of reference during exploration. Way-marking, as we call it, may diminish the likelihood of losing
an "interesting" location, perhaps following disturbance by, for example, a predator or conspecific. Way-marks, being readily
portable, may be a less confusing method of marking ephemeral sites than scent marks. They may also be a safer option for
local navigation insofar as scent marks can easily be detected by a predator. |
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