Elsevier

Animal Behaviour

Volume 38, Issue 4, October 1989, Pages 637-642
Animal Behaviour

Field evidence for sexual selection and resource competition infanticide in white-footed mice

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(89)80009-0Get rights and content

Abstract

A field study on infanticide in white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus, was conducted to (1) determine the effects of sex, reproductive experience and relatedness on the tendency to engage in infanticide, and (2) test three hypotheses for the adaptive significance of infanticide (resource competition, sexual selection and exploitation of young as a food source). The incidence of infanticide was determined using specially designed test chambers in a wild population. Infanticide was most commonly exhibited by resident adult females, immigrating males and resident males that had not sired any offspring. Resident males that had sired offspring did not kill pups within their home ranges, but did kill pups as dispersing males. Thus, infanticide among males was related to confidence of paternity. Forty-three per cent of the pups killed were partially eaten, mostly by pregnant or lactating females. Exploitation of young as a food source may occur opportunistically, but does not appear to be the main motivation for infanticide. Neither males nor females discriminated between pups based on familiar and unfamiliar scent. The results support the sexual selection hypothesis for males and resource competition hypothesis for females.

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    Present address: Zoology Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A.

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