Seasonal changes in open-field behavior in wild male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus)

Open-field behavior of free-living meadow voles was measured in males held overnight in the laboratory. Movement variables were positively correlated, and had negative associations with grooming and freezing. Parameters including activity, freezing, urinating, and grooming showed annual fluctuations related to the reproductive season. Together with the results of a previous study showing castration of wild voles results in altered open-field behavior, these results emphasize the role of testicular hormones in influencing this behavior. Factor analysis identified an activity component accounting for 39% of the variation, but other parameters were little simplified by this procedure. Most factors cycled annually, and significant variation was found in all eight factors during the 4-year sample. Open-field behavior varied between different reproductive and age segments of the population, and may be related to population processes such as dispersal.