2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Experimental evidence of mechanism of rodent's preference for insect-infested seeds: by utilizing CT scanning observation and volatiles analysis of the seeds
| Project/Area Number |
16K14940
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Forest science
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| Research Institution | Nagoya University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Research Collaborator |
KASHIWAGI haruka
KINOSHITA shun'ichi
SASAKI osamu
ICHIHARA yu
JINBO utsugi
HIGO yu'uma
TSURUOKA kenta
SHIMIZU kei
FUKUNAGA hiroki
SUZUKI hanami
MIURA hikaru
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| Project Period (FY) |
2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
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| Keywords | 野ネズミ / 種子食昆虫 / 選好性 / CTスキャン / 揮発性成分分析 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
In Aichi Prefecture and Kagoshima Prefecture (Yakushima Island), we investigated species composition and ecology of rodents (field mice) as well as infestation pattern of insects (weevils and moths) to seeds of broad-leaved trees.
We discussed population density, body weight and reproductive period of the mice such as Apodemus speciosus and A. argenteus based on environmental characteristics (tree flora, understory vegetation, elevation, etc.) of each study site. A specific correlation between body weight and elevation (elevation is higher, body weight is lighter) was found in Yakushima Island.
We put seeds, which were classified into some categories according to CT scanning observation and volatiles analysis, on a food station to be exposed to the mice, and recorded their behaviors of handling and transportation of the seeds. A series of food-choice tests revealed which category of the seeds the mice prefer (rate and ranking of seeds transported) and dislike (reject frequency of them).
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| Free Research Field |
森林保護学
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| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
発芽しないと思われ、無視されていた虫害種子に着目し、野ネズミに供試する実験によって、内部状態や匂いに反応した選好性の違いを見出した。野ネズミによる持ち去りのメカニズムを理解することに寄与し、森林更新の生物学的背景を問い直した。また、世界自然遺産に登録されている屋久島において、野ネズミの生息状況を標高別に初めて把握し、社会的にも興味を惹く、貴重な学術情報を得た。
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