Seasonal variation in attention and spatial performance in a wild population of the African striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio)

Audrey Maille, Neville Pillay, Carsten Schradin

Cognitive flexibility describes the reversible changes of cognition in response to environmental changes. Although various environmental factors such as temperature, photoperiod and rainfall change seasonally, seasonal variation in cognitive performance has been reported in merely a few birds and mammals. We assessed whether cognitive performance in a wild population of African striped mice Rhabdomys pumilio, from the Succulent Karoo semidesert of South Africa, differed between summer and winter. In order to measure cognitive performance, striped mice were trapped in the field, tested under laboratory conditions at our research station and returned to the field within 5 h. We measured attention and spatial memory using the standardized orientation response test and the Barnes maze test. Males tested during summer oriented faster toward a predator-stimulus but made more errors and took longer to locate a shelter than males tested during winter. In contrast, females' performance did not differ between the two seasons. We discuss how the faster orientation in males during winter might be the consequence of lower temperatures and/or prolonged food restriction. We suggest that the enhancement of spatial performance during winter might be due to a greater motivation for future dispersal in male striped mice, as spring represents the breeding season.