Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012;7(7):e40642.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040642. Epub 2012 Jul 16.

Species specific behavioural patterns (digging and swimming) and reaction to novel objects in wild type, Wistar, Sprague-Dawley and Brown Norway rats

Rafał Stryjek  1 , Klaudia Modlińska, Wojciech Pisula
Affiliations

Species specific behavioural patterns (digging and swimming) and reaction to novel objects in wild type, Wistar, Sprague-Dawley and Brown Norway rats

Rafał Stryjek et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of the present study was to analyse species-specific forms of behaviour (digging and swimming) and response to novelty in laboratory rats and their wild type counterparts at a very early stage of laboratorization. Three behavioural phenomena were taken into account: burrowing, spontaneous swimming, and neophobic behaviour.

Principal findings: Wild-type rats and three strains of laboratory rats were involved in experiments: Warsaw-Wild-Captive-Pisula-Stryjek (WWCPS), Wistar, Sprague-Dawley, and Brown Norway rats were compared in spontaneous swimming test, while WWCPS and Wistar rats were studied in burrowing and neophobia experiments. Wild rats were found to be faster at building tunnels than Wistar rats and at constructing more complex burrow systems. The experiment on neophobia showed that Wistar rats exhibited less neophobic responses and were more often trapped. WWCPS rats showed highly neophobic behaviour and were rarely trapped in this experiment. The experiment on swimming showed that WWCPS rats showed more complex water tank related activity than their laboratory counterparts. They swam and explored under surface environment.

Conclusions: The three experiments showed profound behavioural differences in quasi-natural forms of behaviour between wild type rats (WWCPS) and three laboratory strains frequently used in behavioural studies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Tank used in the burrowing study. (A) digging stone; (B) soil mixture; (C) tank cover; (D) drinking bottle with wire stand; (e) feeding bowl.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Mean length of burrows dug by rats from either strain for each testing day.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Diagram showing tunnels and burrows dug by wild WWCPS rats (overhead view).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Diagram showing tunnels and burrows dug by Wistar rats (overhead view).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Experimental apparatus. 1– housing tank; 2– water-filled tank (A – shelter, B – plank, C – passage between tanks, D – heater and filter, E – cage).
Figure 6
Figure 6. The percentage of rats that swam and dove during the test.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Female wild rat (WWCPS). (A) submerging a significant portion of her body in water; (B) swimming across the water-filled tank; (C) swimming horizontally underwater; (D) diving.
Figure 8
Figure 8. The rats’ activity within the water-filled tank.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lockard RB. The albino rat: a defensible choice or a bad habit? Am Psychol. 1968;23:734–742. - PubMed
    1. Castle WE. The domestication of the rat. P Natl Acad Sci USA. 1947;33:109–117. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Keeler CE. Modification of brain and endocrine glands, as an explanation of altered behavior trends, in coat character mutant strains of the Norway rat. J Tennessee Acad Sci. 1947;22:202–209. - PubMed
    1. Barnett SA, Dickson RG, Hocking WE. Genotype and environment in the social interactions of wild and domestic “Norway” rats. Aggress Behav. 1979;5:105–119.
    1. Barnett SA, Hocking WE. Further experiments on the social interactions of domestic “Norway” rats. Aggress Behav. 1981;7:259–263.

Publication types