A Comparative Study of the Behaviour of Six Taxa of Male and Female Gerbils (Rodentia) in Intra‐ and Interspecific Encounters

AbstractFrequencies and sequences of visually‐identifiable acts were investigated in male‐female combinations of gerbils of the taxa Tatera brantsii, Gerbillurus paeba paeba, G. p. exilis, G. tytonis, G. setzeri, and G. vallinus. Sexual dimorphism of behaviour was most apparent in T. brantsii, G. setzeri, and G. vallinus, in which following, anogenital sniffing, and mounting were significantly more frequently performed by males than females. Females of all taxa presented and darted, while males did not perform these acts.Analysis of first‐order transitions of acts in intraspecific encounters revealed remarkable similarity among species in the sequences identified as most significantly deviating from expected frequency.Species‐specific patterns of behaviour were detected by discriminant analysis. G. p. paeba, G. p. exilis and G. vallinus were not clearly distinguished by discriminant analysis, and presented a behaviour pattern characterized by low levels of aggression and high levels of huddling behaviour. G. tytonis, G. setzeri and T. brantsii were characterized by low levels of huddling, G. tytonis performed the largest number of upright postures of all taxa, G. setzeri watched more than other taxa, and T. brantsii nasal sniffed less frequently than Gerbillurus taxa. Differences among taxa were more apparent in males than in females.Interspecific encounters were staged between G. p. paeba and G. p. exilis, G. p. paeba and G. tytonis, G. setzeri and G. vallinus. Males showed more evidence of changed behaviour in interspecific encounters than females. More sexual and less agonistic behaviour was detected in intraspecific encounters than in interspecific encounters, but this was statistically significant in only 5 of 12 combinations.Visual, tactile and olfactory communication during physical contact with another individual may complement auditory communication in promoting conspecific recognition in southern African gerbils.