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Social Stimulation and the Survival of Mice Under Prolonged Water Deprivation
Author(s) -
Ressler Robert H.,
Haasch William D.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1935015
Subject(s) - cage , stimulation , population , biology , zoology , body weight , ecology , social contact , demography , endocrinology , psychology , communication , engineering , structural engineering , sociology
Pairs of male, hybrid mice sharing a .03 ml daily water ration lost significantly less weight and survived significantly longer if permitted physical contact in the cage than if separated by a wire screen. Physical contact prolonged survival even when the analysis was restricted to the possible victims of cannibalization. Although allowed to consume the full water ration on each day, additional mice housed one—per—cage lost as much weight and died as soon as unseparated pairs sharing the ration. It is suggested that, if physical contact among individuals is maintained, aggregation may be advantageous to a population even when it results in a reduced supply for each individual of a resource necessary for survival.