Seasonally variable effects of conspecific odors upon capture of deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus gambelii)

Traps were set in triplets of one male-scented (M), one female-scented (F), and one neutral (N) trap. Bedding from laboratory-caged, adult deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus gambelii) was the source of M and F odors. In winter, outside the breeding season, deer mice, pocket mice, and kangaroo rats all avoided deer mouse odors and preferentially entered N traps. In spring, when breeding had commenced, deer mice preferentially entered scented traps, and avoidance of deer mouse odors by other species was reduced. These changes are interpreted as reflecting seasonally variable strategies of social confrontation.