Exploration and docility in coexisting rodents

Abstract There is increasing interest in understanding how behaviour influences trade-offs that facilitate species coexistence. In the absence of spatiotemporal habitat separation and resource partitioning, behavioural differences mediate competition among sympatric species. Here, we examine two behaviours, docility and exploration, using two standardized assays in three rodent species that coexist in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, as part of an ongoing mark–recapture project. We used reproductive status as a proxy for energetic costs during a single breeding season, hypothesizing that differences in docility and exploration reflect species-specific reproductive life-history traits. We predicted that behavioural differences would be most notable between breeding and non-breeding individuals. We report mean differences in behavioural traits for deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), which are more explorative and less docile than red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi) or woodland jumping mice (Napaeozapus insignis). We also report low among-individual variation in both behaviours across species. The populations observed in this study are known to be dependent on similar resources. Behaviour is an important, yet underexplored, mechanism of coexistence in the face of limiting resources. Here, we demonstrate that differences in exploration and docility are related to species reproductive life history. Thus, reproductive history traits and seasonal or annual changes in behaviours can be an important consideration for understanding the mechanisms that facilitate species coexistence.