Influence of intra- and inter-specific competitions on food hoarding behaviour of buff-breasted rat (Rattus flavipectus)

Abstract

Food hoarding behavior of sympatric conspecific rodents has been extensively documented during the last decades, while research concerning the influence of intra- and inter-specific competition on hoarding behaviour of rodents is limited. We investigated food hoarding behaviour of buff-breasted rat (Rattus flavipectus) under conditions of semi-natural enclosures in the tropical rain-forest of the Xishuangbanna area (altitude 475–2430 m, 21°09′–22°36′N, 99°58′–101°50′E), Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The main goal of this study was to understand the influence of intra- and inter-specific competition on food hoarding behaviour of rodents. Seeds of Lithocarpus truncatus (Fagaceae), with woody and hard seed coat, were selected and marked as a food item in this experiment. The result showed that: (1) R. flavipectus mainly exhibited food hoarding behaviour in larder form; and (2) the presence of intra-specific competitors significantly increased larder hoarding in R. flavipectus, while an inter-specific competitor, Chinese white-bellied rat (Niviventor confucianus), exerted no significant influence on food hoarding behaviour of subjects. These results indicated that rodent species would adjust their food hoarding behaviour in the presence of competitors, and intra-specific competition has a greater effect than inter-specific competition.