An investigation of the selection and defense of cache foods by eastern woodrats

This study investigated the ability of eastern woodrats to identify suitable cache foods and defend food against thieves. Woodrats amass caches of seeds, fruits, and leaves in fall for consumption during winter. To insure food will be available in winter, woodrats must select foods appropriate for storage and defend the food from theft.;The ability of naive juvenile eastern woodrats to select appropriate food for hoarding by utilizing cues from their mother's diet was examined. Juvenile woodrats exposed to garlic laced chow during the period they were nursing were more likely to cache garlic laced chow than juveniles not exposed to garlic laced chow while nursing. However, neither group preferred to consume garlic chow over a mint flavored alternate. Additionally, the ability of juvenile eastern woodrats to assess the relative perishability of food items was tested. Juvenile woodrats cached dry apple slices before fresh apple, but consumed fresh apple first.;The ability of woodrats to defend their cache against microbial and vertebrate competitors was examined. Woodrats were tested for their capacity to consume fungal infected food as a mechanism to compensate for microbial competitors. Woodrats did not avoid caching fungal infected food items, and consumed as much or more fungal infected food as uninfected food. Because many fungi are known to produce toxins to deter consumers, woodrats were tested to determine if they would avoid foods contaminated with fungal toxins. Woodrats did not avoid toxin laced food in all cases, but after an initial exposure to toxic food, associated toxin-induced illness with characteristics of fungal infection of food items.;Woodrats were also tested to see if the behavior of urinating on cached food was a mechanism for deterring heterospecific and conspecific cache thieves. When presented with food contaminated with their own urine and the urine from a conspecific, woodrats tended to preferentially consume food laced with their own urine. When presented food contaminated with their own urine and food without urine. woodrats preferred to consume uncontaminated food. White footed mice, an animal known to pilfer food from woodrat caches, consumed more food contaminated with woodrat urine than uncontaminated food.