Are physiological and behavioural responses to stressors displayed concordantly by wild urban rodents?

ABSTRACT: Understanding wild animal responses to stressors underpins effective wildlife management. In order for responses to stressors to be correctly interpreted, it is critical that measurements are taken on wild animals using minimally invasive techniques. Studies investigating wild animal responses to stressors often measure either a single physiological or behavioural variable, but whether such responses are comparable and concordant remains uncertain. We investigated this question in a pilot study that measured responses of wild-caught urban brown and black rats (Rattus norvegicus, Rattus rattus) to fur-based olfactory cues from a predator, the domestic cat (Felis catus); a novel herbivore, the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus); and a familiar herbivore and competitor, the common brushtail possu

SUBMITTER: Fardell LL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7790802 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature