Meeting Abstract

P2.8  Sunday, Jan. 5 15:30  Caching behavior of non-food items in woodrats (Neotoma albigula) ABBOTT, J.*; VANLEUVEN, A.; SKOPEC, M.; Weber State University abbotjames@gmail.com

Woodrats (genus Neotoma) are commonly referred to as packrats due to their characteristic behavior of caching both food and non-food objects from their surroundings. We conducted a series of experiments to evaluate the caching behavior of non-food items in Neotoma albigula. Trials were run to see if the woodrats showed a preference for brilliance, color or scent of a non-food object, jingle bells. The brilliance trial investigated whether woodrats prefer shiny over dull objects, as anecdotal evidence suggests that woodrats prefer shiny objects and sometimes will even trade dull objects for shinier ones. Woodrats were placed in cages that had two external compartments where jingle bells were offered. Jingle bells were painted with either a shiny or matte finish of the same color. The woodrats showed no preference for bells exhibiting more brilliance which indicates that woodrats do not necessarily prefer shiny objects. In the color trials, the woodrats were given access to gold or blue jingle bells. The blue color resembled the juniper berries that woodrats consume, and preference for the blue-colored bells may be evidence that they cache non-food items that are similar in color to food items. The woodrats, however, showed no preference for color and cached blue and gold bells at an equal rate. Scent trials were conducted to determine if woodrats potentially raid conspecific’s caches. The woodrats were given access to jingle bells scented by a same or opposite sex woodrat or unscented jingle bells. The woodrats showed no preference between the scented and unscented bells, however, woodrats in the scent trials cached significantly fewer bells overall than those in the brilliance or color trials suggesting that woodrats may not be raiding conspecific’s caches.