Space use in Wagner's gerbil Gerbillus dasyurus in the Negev Highlands, Israel

Abstract

Space use of Gerbillus dasyurus (Wagner, 1842) was studied on a 1.25-ha site during 2 months. The density was 20.8 animals per ha and 72.7% of captured individuals were sexually active adults. The observed sex ratio differed significantly from 1:1 with a male bias. An active ventral sebaceous gland was recorded in reproductively active males only. No significant correlation was found between body mass and ventral gland size. Male home ranges were larger than those of females and overlapped between one another to a greater extent. There were three clusters of capture points which indicated the occurrence of spatial associations of individuals whose home ranges broadly overlapped with one another and were almost isolated from home ranges of individuals belonging to other associations. No difference in microhabitat distribution of male captures was found, whereas that of female captures differed significantly among microhabitats, being the highest in patches with high shrub cover.