Wild Brown Rat Predator Response
Examining Antipredator Responses to Cat Fur and Possum Fur Odour Cues
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About this dataset
The dataset contains results of an experiment examining the complex and fascinating antipredator responses of wild brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) to both cat fur and possum fur odour cues in a semi-natural environment. This experiment sought to explore how such animals think, feel, and react when presented with potential danger signals in their environment.
The data reflects the behavior of wild brown rats that were housed in open air enclosures containing two feeding stations, each presented with different treatment scenarios: one pair of feeding stations received cat fur, one pair received possum fur, and another pair was provided no added odour cue as control. The results documented can offer deeper insight into the relative sensitivity of these animals when exposed to predator-related cues - not only their behavioral reactions but also their emotional state and physiological processes that are involved - informing us on their response strategies under different contexts. Furthermore, this information can be used as a practical tool for those interested in animal welfare conservation or management.
So why wait? Dig deep into this dataset and uncover what wild brown rats are truly made of!
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How to use the dataset
This dataset contains valuable information about the responses of wild brown rats to predator odour cues in a semi-natural, open air environment. This dataset can be used in order to gain further insight into the behaviour of these animals when presented with different predator odours and offers an opportunity to study their sensitivity and response times.
In order to use this dataset, one should look at the column headings for more information on what each observation contains. Each row will represent an observation from one rat from a particular cohort, on a given night, treated with either cat fur or possum fur odour cue treatments, along with control (i.e., no treatment) observations. The columns contain important data points such as sex, cohort number and cage number (helpful for inter-run comparisons). There are also observations regarding how much time individual rodents spent in proximity of two food stations (helpful for measuring responsiveness), as well as how long they spent in each station’s food hopper before consuming their food (helpful for measuring interest level). Finally, it will be possible to explore how each rat responded when presented with “opposite treatments” - i.e., whether they had preferences or biases towards certain predators over others due to previous diet experiences or other factors.
Overall this dataset provides an insight into the behaviour of wild brown rats when responding to different predator stimuli - offering a great deal of potential research avenues which could be explored by analysing this data effectively!
Research Ideas
- Examine correlations between individual animal behaviors and their response to varying levels of predator odors.
- Test differences in responses of wild brown rats within different environmental contexts, such as open air enclosures, laboratory cages, and natural habitats.
- Compare rats’ responses to predator-related olfactory cues with other factors such as sex, age, or genetic make-up to identify variations in behaviors within different population subgroups
Acknowledgements
If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors.
Data Source
License
License: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) - Public Domain Dedication
No Copyright - You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. See Other Information.
Columns
File: 2019-Oct10._Choice_McQU_DATA_1_hour_bins.csv
| Column name |
Description |
| Cohort |
The group of animals being tested. (Numeric) |
| Night |
The night when the experiment took place. (Numeric) |
| Hour |
The hour during the night when the experiment was conducted. (Numeric) |
| Sex |
The sex of the rat being tested. (Categorical) |
| Cage |
The cage where the rat was housed prior to testing. (Numeric) |
| Feeding station |
The feeding station where the rat was presented with treatment. (Numeric) |
| Treatment |
The type of treatment the rat received (cat fur, possum fur, or control). (Categorical) |
| Treatment on opposite feeder |
The type of treatment used at the other feeding station. (Categorical) |
| Carryover |
Whether there were any leftovers from previous nights that impacted results for a specific night/hour period/treatment. (Categorical) |
| Food hopper time (sec) |
How long an individual animal lingered inside its food hopper. (Numeric) |
| Feeding station time (sec) |
How long an individual animal lingered at its respective feeding station. (Numeric) |
File: 2019-Oct10._Choice_McQU_DATA.csv
| Column name |
Description |
| Cohort |
The group of animals being tested. (Numeric) |
| Night |
The night when the experiment took place. (Numeric) |
| Sex |
The sex of the rat being tested. (Categorical) |
| Cage |
The cage where the rat was housed prior to testing. (Numeric) |
| Feeding station |
The feeding station where the rat was presented with treatment. (Numeric) |
| Treatment |
The type of treatment the rat received (cat fur, possum fur, or control). (Categorical) |
| Carryover |
Whether there were any leftovers from previous nights that impacted results for a specific night/hour period/treatment. (Categorical) |
| Food hopper time (sec) |
How long an individual animal lingered inside its food hopper. (Numeric) |
| Feeding station time (sec) |
How long an individual animal lingered at its respective feeding station. (Numeric) |
Acknowledgements
If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors.
If you use this dataset in your research, please credit .