Modulation of aggression in male mice: influence of group size and cage size
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Aggression in group-housed male mice is known to be influenced by both cage size and group size. However, the interdependency of these two parameters has not been studied yet. In this study, the level of aggression in groups of three, five, or eight male BALB/c mice housed in cages with a floor size of either 80 or 125 cm(2)/animal was estimated weekly after cage cleaning for a period of 14 weeks. Furthermore, urine corticosterone levels, food and water intake, body weight, and number of wounds were measured weekly. At the end of the experiment, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, testosterone levels, and weight of spleen, thymus, testes, and seminal vesicles were determined. Results indicate a moderate increase of intermale aggression in larger cages when compared to the smaller cages. Aggression in groups of eight animals was considerably higher than in groups of three animals. The increase of agonistic behavior was observed both in dominant and subordinate animals. Physiological parameters indicate differences in stress levels between dominant and subordinate animals. It is concluded that aggressive behavior in group-housed male BALB/c mice is best prevented by housing the animals in small groups of three to five animals, while decreasing floor size per animal may be used as a temporary solution to decrease high levels of aggression in an existing social group.
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Social environment (group size and composition/stocking density) induces aggressive behaviour.
“Social environment (group size and composition/stocking density) | Compromises animal welfare [191]. Induces aggressive behaviour [192,193] and stress [180].”
From Reporting animal research: Explanation and elaboration for the ARRIVE guidelines 2.0 (2020) · cites this paper as [192]
Section 4.3 reports that aggression increased substantially with group size in male mice. Sections 4.2 and 5 also find that cage size affected aggression, but smaller cages reduced it in this study. The paper does not test group composition or support a general claim that higher stocking density increases aggression. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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References 31 · Cited by 249
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- Authors
- Van Loo, P. L. P., Mol, J. A., Koolhaas, J. M., Van Zutphen, B. F. M., & Baumans, V.
- Affiliations
- Utrecht University (NL)
- University of Groningen (NL)
- Venue
- Physiology & Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2001-04
- Volume
- 72
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 675-683
- ISSN
- 0031-9384 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2057551037
- Cited by
- 249
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 14.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Physiology & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Keywords
- male-male aggression, group size, cage size, housing conditions, BALB/c mice, corticosterone, stress, tyrosine hydroxylase, testosterone, gonadotrophs, agonistic behavior
- MeSH terms
- Aggression, Animals, Body Weight, Corticosterone, Drinking, Eating, Environment, Housing, Animal, Male, Organ Size, Social Environment, Testosterone, Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase, Wounds and Injuries, Mice
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