A comparative study of swimming behavior in eight species of muroid rodents

Abstract

Ten males and females from each of eight species of muroid rodents were tested for their tendency to leave a dry platform and swim in 5-min tests. Overall, 85% of the animals entered the water at least once and all showed integrated swimming behavior, even though they had not previously encountered standing water. There were no consistent sex differences. Species differences were found with respect to the latency to enter the water, the number of bouts of swimming, the total time swimming, and the mean swim bout duration. These species differences could not be related to ecological factors in the natural habitat. © 1978, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.