The Individual Division of Food Hoarding in Autumn Brandt’s Voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii)

TL;DR

Brandt’s voles show two types of food hoarding behavior in autumn, with high-hoarders having better spatial memory.

Contribution

This study identifies individual division of labor in food hoarding and links it to spatial memory in Brandt’s voles.

Findings

Brandt’s voles exhibit high and low food hoarding behaviors, not all individuals hoard food.

High-food-hoarding individuals have significantly better spatial memory than low-hoarders.

Feeding behavior is the most common activity across all experimental treatments.

Abstract

The division of labor and cooperation are typical behavior patterns of gregarious mammals, but it is unclear whether Brandt’s voles exercise a division of labor before overwintering. We observed and recorded the behavioral activities of Brandt’s voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii) with an infrared camera and conducted behavioral experiments on individuals with a food-hoarding division. We found that Brandt’s voles had two types of hoarding behavior: high food hoarding and low food hoarding. Furthermore, high-food-hoarding individuals had greater spatial memory. The individual division of labor during the hoarding period of Brandt’s voles was analyzed, and the personality characteristics of individuals were measured. The goal was to better understand the division of labor among different individuals in hoarding, as well as the emergence and significance of the social division of labor in gregarious animals.

Brandt’s voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii), one of the main non-hibernating rodent species in the typical grassland of Inner Mongolia, live in groups and have the behavioral habit of hoarding food in underground warehouses in autumn to prepare for the winter food shortage ahead. The division of labor and cooperation are typical behavior patterns of gregarious mammals, but it is unclear whether Brandt’s voles exercise a division of labor in food hoarding before overwintering. To explore the division of food hoarding in Brandt’s voles during the autumn period, three treatments, namely added food, added food + competition, and control, were set up with three replicates. An infrared camera was positioned to observe and record the behavior of Brandt’s voles under different treatments. Next, behavioral experiments regarding food-hoarding division were performed on individuals. The results showed that (1) Brandt’s voles had two types of hoarding behavior, namely high food hoarding and low food hoarding, but not all individuals displayed hoarding behavior. (2) In all treatments, feeding behavior, which was the most important type of behavior, accounted for the highest proportion of all behaviors. (3) There was no significant difference in body weight and sex between high- and low-food-hoarding individuals of Brandt’s voles, and there was no significant difference between high- and low-food-hoarding individuals in other divisions of labor either. (4) There was no significant difference in inquiry ability between high- and low-food-hoarding groups, but there was a significant difference in spatial memory. High-food-hoarding individuals had greater spatial memory. In summary, Brandt’s voles had two types of hoarding behavior: high food hoarding and low food hoarding. Furthermore, high-food-hoarding individuals had greater spatial memory.

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