Catalogue of the behaviour of Meriones unguiculatus f. dom. (Mongolian gerbil) and wild conspecies, in captivity and under natural conditions, based on a systematic literature review

Abstract

Despite Meriones unguiculatus’ long history and popularity as an animal model in a wide range of research on topics from gastric and neurological diseases to animal cognition, there is no single comprehensive and detailed source of information about this animal’s behaviour in nature or captivity. Instead, partial and heterogeneous descriptions of several aspects of behaviour can be found throughout a vast and dissimilar literature. Recognising the relevance of having available detailed and standardised terminology for animal models used in basic, applied, and translational behavioural research, we developed a comprehensive catalogue of the behaviour of Mongolian gerbil (M. unguiculatus f. dom) and wild conspecies, in captivity and under natural conditions, by adapting methodology currently widely accepted for conducting and reporting systematic literature reviews. As a result, 116 behavioural traits were compiled and classified. We expect several positive outcomes from this first version of the glossary: (1) improved interpretation of M. unguiculatus’ behavioural data; (2) encouragement of laboratories to provide more systematic and standard descriptions of behaviour; (3) an increase in cross-species comparisons and behaviour modelling; and (4) saving researchers the substantial time and effort required to develop their own definitions of behaviour. Overall, we believe this catalogue, by contributing to our comprehension of the repertoire of behaviour of an extremely versatile animal model, will favour understanding of related phenomena within and across species, including normal and pathological human brain functioning. We conclude by discussing additional efforts related to development of the catalogue and suggesting lines of research that may benefit from incorporating its definitions (e.g., behavioural differences between strains of Mongolian gerbils).