Spatial memory in the desert kangaroo rat (Dipodomys deserti)

Abstract

Desert kangaroo rats (Dipodomys deserti) forage for seed distributed in patches in the desert environment and may remember patch locations. In Experiment 1, 7 desert kangaroo rats that had discovered the location of a plastic token in 1 box accurately dug for a token hidden in the same location in a 2nd identical box. Results of Experiment 2 indicated that the rats primarily remembered the spatial location of the token within the box in relation to extramaze objects and the walls of the experimental box. Female rats also remembered the chip's location in relation to objects inside the box, but males did not. Experiment 3 demonstrated that the rats' ability to locate the buried token did not depend on detection of the odor of the token. In the discussion I propose that spatial memory in kangaroo rats may have evolved as a result of an overall change in the ontogeny of the species rather than as a specialized adaptation for foraging efficiency.