Foraging behaviour of two rodent species inhabiting a kopje (rocky outcrop) in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya Fanson, Benjamin G., Fanson, Kerry V. and Brown, Joel S. 2008, Foraging behaviour of two rodent species inhabiting a kopje (rocky outcrop) in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya, African zoology, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 184-191, doi: 10.3377/1562-7020-43.2.184. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads fanson-foragingbehaviour-2008.pdf Published version application/pdf 138.66KB 444 Title Foraging behaviour of two rodent species inhabiting a kopje (rocky outcrop) in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya Author(s) Fanson, Benjamin G. Fanson, Kerry V. orcid.org/0000-0001-9372-2018 Brown, Joel S. Journal name African zoology Volume number 43 Issue number 2 Start page 184 End page 191 Total pages 8 Publisher Universiteit Stellenbosch, Department of Botany and Zoology Place of publication Stellenbosch, South Africa Publication date 2008-10 ISSN 1562-7020 2224-073X Keyword(s) giving-up densities foraging ecology kopje lunar Summary We employed patch use theory to evaluate how several environmental factors influence the foraging behaviour of two rodent species: Grammomys dolichurus and Acomys cahirinus. Foraging efficiency was determined by measuring the remaining food in artificial food patches (giving-up densities: GUDs) from two experiments. In the first experiment, we placed patches in different microhabitat types (cover vs open) and at varying distances from cover. This experiment was conducted during three moon stages (waxing, full, waning). We found that the rodents had higher GUDs (lower foraging efficiency) in the open microhabitat. The distance from nearest shelter had a marginally significant positive effect on GUDs. GUDs were higher in both microhabitat types during the waxing and full phases, but decreased sharply once the moon began to rise after sunset. These results are likely due to higher predation risk away from cover and in more illuminated environments. In the second experiment, we examined mouse responses to seeds impregnated with plant toxins. Seeds impregnated with oxalic acid were avoided by the rodents, while seeds soaked in tannic acid did not differ significantly from control seeds. Our results highlight important ecological factors affecting the foraging behaviour of these rodents. Language eng DOI 10.3377/1562-7020-43.2.184 Field of Research 060201 Behavioural Ecology 060604 Comparative Physiology 060806 Animal Physiological Ecology Socio Economic Objective 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2008, Universiteit Stellenbosch, Department of Botany and Zoology Free to Read? Yes Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30047803 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment School of Life and Environmental Sciences Open Access Collection Centre for Integrative Ecology Related Links Link Description Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO. If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact drosupport@deakin.edu.au. Versions Version Filter Type Mon, 03 Sep 2012, 14:00:14 EST Tue, 02 Oct 2012, 14:42:05 EST Tue, 02 Oct 2012, 14:46:37 EST Thu, 23 Jan 2014, 08:57:17 EST Wed, 16 Apr 2014, 13:54:05 EST Wed, 27 Aug 2014, 23:08:24 EST Thu, 11 Dec 2014, 18:08:46 EST Tue, 06 Sep 2016, 19:40:43 EST Tue, 05 Dec 2017, 12:35:37 EST Fri, 07 Sep 2018, 16:08:53 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 8 times in TR Web of Science Cited 8 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 681 Abstract Views, 445 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Mon, 03 Sep 2012, 14:00:14 EST