• Search Research Projects
  • Search Researchers
  • How to Use
  1. Back to previous page

A Study of the Behavioural Modification of the House Musk Shrew in the Process of Domestication

Research Project

Project/Area Number 60450012
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)

Allocation TypeSingle-year Grants
Research Field Psychology
Research InstitutionNagoya University

Principal Investigator

ISHII Kiyoshi (1986)  Research Associate, Nagoya University, 文学部, 助手 (70092989)

辻 敬一郎 (1985)  名古屋大学, 文学部, 教授

Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) KIDA Mitsuro  Associate Professor, Nagoya University, 環境医学研究所, 助教授 (80023654)
TSUJI Keiichiro  Professor, Nagoya University, 文学部, 教授 (20023591)
Project Period (FY) 1985 – 1986
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 1986)
Budget Amount *help
¥5,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,300,000)
Fiscal Year 1986: ¥1,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000)
Fiscal Year 1985: ¥3,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,400,000)
KeywordsDomestication / Caravaning / Sexual behaviour / Activity rhythm / 初期行動 / 生殖(性)行動
Research Abstract

Domestication is the operation by which animals are artificially bred through successive generations after having been freed from the natural selection pressure. Investigations of its effect are concerned with the evolution of behaviour, as they provide us with basic informations on how a behaviour pattern becomes specified while increasing its variation within species. Significance of this approach is greater in the behavioural studies, since evolutionary processes cannot be reproduced with fossil remains.
Based on the fact of strain differences obtained with inbred mice (Tsuji & Ebihara,1980; Tsuji et al.,1982), the following hypothesis is proposed: Domesticated animals have been pressed for their adaptation by twofold factors, genetic and environmental. A basic trait of behaviour seen as the strain character is an outcome of these controlling forces. Different strains have specified different patterns, which are originally built-in as the potential modes of wild animals of the specie … More s in coping with their environment. This hypothesis must be tested by breeding wild animals artificially.
The house musk shrew (Suncus murinus) is used considering its phylogenetic status. Since 1980 we have domesticated wild animals of this species for our research purpose. The animals were originally captured in Tarama Island, Okinawa, and were transported to our laboratory, where they have been bred by non-sib mating in the closed colony.
Two behaviours of the basicly adaptive significance are observed; one is the caravaning and the other is the sexual behaviour. Additionally, activity rhythms are recorded and analyzed.
We have so far domesticated wild animals of the Tarama line for three generations and have collected data on the target behaviours mentioned above. Although the effect of domestication has not been elaborated yet, data on the behaviours of the already domesticated animals have been successfully collected by the laboratory observations. Their caravaning and sexual behaviours have been described in detail as well as their activity rhythms.
It is our task of immediate necessity to establish reliable breeding procedure, in order that we can accumulate sufficient amount of data on the target behaviours for the early stage of domestication. Less

Report

(1 results)
  • 1986 Final Research Report Summary
  • Research Products

    (6 results)

All Other

All Publications (6 results)

  • [Publications] Tsuji,K.;Matsuo,T,;Ishikawa,T.: Behaviour. 99. 117-138 (1986)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1986 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 辻敬一郎,石井澄: 名古屋大学文学部研究論集. 99. 85-92 (1987)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1986 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] 石井澄,辻敬一郎: 名古屋大学文学部研究論集. 99. 77-84 (1987)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
    • Related Report
      1986 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] Tsuji, K., Matsuo, T., and Ishikawa, T.: "Developmental changes in the caravaning behaviour of the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus)." Behaviour. 99. 117-138 (1986)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1986 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] Tsuji, K. and Ishii, K.: "A study of the behavioural modification in the domestication process of the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus). [in Japanese]" The Journal of the Faculty of Literature Nagoya University. 99. 85-92 (1987)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1986 Final Research Report Summary
  • [Publications] Ishii, K. and Tsuji, K.: "A test of the learning ability in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus) (1) -- Continuous reversal learning in the position discrimination task -- [in Japanese]" The Journal of the Faculty of Literature Nagoya University. 99. 77-84 (1987)

    • Description
      「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
    • Related Report
      1986 Final Research Report Summary

URL: 

Published: 1987-03-31   Modified: 2016-04-21  

Information User Guide FAQ News Terms of Use Attribution of KAKENHI

Powered by NII kakenhi