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Cited by 70Animal Ecology and Behavior StudiesAnimal Behavior and ReproductionWildlife Ecology and Conservation

Structural complexity of territories: preference, use of space and defence in commensal house mice, Mus domesticus

Gray, Samantha J., Jensen, Susanne Plesner, Hurst, Jane L.·2000·Animal Behaviour
DOI 10.1006/anbe.2000.1527
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Abstract

Previous studies suggest the physical structure of a habitat has profound effects on intraspecific competition and spacing behaviour among small mammals. We compared habitat preferences and the exploratory behaviour and aggressive territorial defence of male house mice in three types of enclosure differing only in their degree of structural complexity. Each enclosure contained a nestbox placed in one corner, a central food hopper and 10 house bricks. The bricks were either placed around the outer walls (open enclosures), lined up across the middle (wall enclosures) or scattered separately across the floor (complex enclosures). In pairwise choice tests, mice showed a strong preference for wall or complex enclosures over open enclosures but no preference between wall and complex enclosures. They were more active throughout the enclosure with complex structuring and stayed near the side walls in open enclosures. Residents in open enclosures initially showed a lower rate of attack and duration of pursuit when faced with an intruder but not when faced with a second intruder. In complex enclosures, nearly all encounters ended because the residents continued pursuit but lost track of the intruder. This occurred in only half of intruder pursuits in open and wall enclosures. Our results suggest that mice prefer areas containing physical structure because this provides a degree of protection from predators but territories with complex physical structuring appear to be much more difficu…

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Crossref · 10.1006/anbe.2000.1527

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  • In nature, mice form groups with complex and flexible social structures, depending on the habitat and availability of resources.

    “However, in nature, mice form groups with complex and flexible social structures, depending on the habitat and availability of resources 15 .”

    From Ucn3 and CRF-R2 in the medial amygdala regulate complex social dynamics (2016) · cites this paper as [15]

  • Bigger and more complex environments, which permit assigning of separate areas, promote territoriality, but can also limit aggression by leaving some ways to escape.

    “Bigger and more complex environments, which permit assigning of separate areas, promote territoriality (but, on the other hand, can limit the aggression by leaving some ways to escape; see Reference 83).”

    From Ecological validity of social interaction tests in rats and mice (2019) · cites this paper as [83]

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Authors
Gray, S. J., Jensen, S. P., & Hurst, J. L.
Affiliations
  • University of Nottingham (GB)
  • University of Liverpool (GB)
ORCID
Hurst, Jane L.
Venue
Animal Behaviour
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2000-12
Volume
60
Issue
6
Pages
765-772
ISSN
0003-3472 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1006/anbe.2000.1527
OpenAlex
W2089109334
Cited by
70
References
27
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 8 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
FWCI
2.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Animal Behaviour (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
  • Natural Environment Research Council
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Keywords
territoriality, habitat preference, habitat structural complexity, territorial defense, intraspecific competition, spacing behaviour, exploratory behavior, predator avoidance, house mouse, Mus domesticus, nest boxes, enclosure design

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