Some Aspects of Water Shrew Behavior

Abstract

A 14-month laboratory study was made of some aspects of the behavior of Sorex palustris. An enclosure, simulating the water shrews' natural habitat, was constructed and 13 water shrews, one to seven at a time, were retained for observation. A 1.5-hour rhythm was evident and consisted of a 30-minute active phase and a 60-minute inactive phase. Laboratory and field data suggested that S. palustris had two major activity peaks which occurred from one hour before sunrise (4:00 AM to 5:00 AM) and from sunset (7:00 PM) to 11:00 PM. Oxygen consumption rates and food utilization implied that the water shrews required approximately 0.95 g/g/day. It was shown that the animals definitely hoarded food and that a preference existed in the type of food hoarded. Sensory abilities, tunneling behavior, nesting behavior, interand intraspecies behavior were noted. This last behavior was the more pronounced and demonstrated that a dominance hierarchy and territoriality did not exist. Except for the recent works of Conaway (1952) and Conaway and Pfitzer (1952) only casual observations of the behavior of the water shrew have been reported. The purpose of this paper is to present some additional information about behavioral adaptations displayed by this species. I wish to express appreciation to J. W. Twente, C. H. Conaway, and T. S. Baskett for their helpful suggestions in the preparation of