Abstract Behavioral changes that reduce the risk of predation in response to predator-derived odor cues are widespread among mammalian taxa and have received a great deal of attention. Although voles of the genus Microtus are staples in the diet of many mammalian predators, including domestic cats (Felis catus), there are no previous studies on vole space utilization and activity levels in response to odor cues from domestic cats. Therefore, the objective of our study was to investigate responses of adult prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) living in semi-natural habitats to odor cues from domestic cat excreta. Contrary to expectations, neither adult males or females showed significant changes in space use or willingness to enter traps in response to cat odors. One hypothesis to explain our results are that prairie voles have not co-evolved with domestic cats long enough to respond to their odors. Other possible explanations include whether levels of odors in the environment were sufficient to trigger a response or that the perceived risk of predation from odor cues alone did not outweigh relative costs of changing space use and activity levels. Future studies should consider multiple factors when determining what cues are sufficient to elicit antipredatory behavior.

中文翻译：

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草原田鼠 (Microtus ochrogaster) 是否会因家猫 (Felis catus) 的排泄物而改变它们的活动和空间利用？

摘要 降低捕食风险以响应捕食者衍生的气味线索的行为变化在哺乳动物类群中很普遍，并受到了广泛关注。虽然田鼠属的田鼠是许多哺乳动物捕食者的主要食物，包括家猫 (Felis catus)，但之前没有关于田鼠空间利用和活动水平的研究，以响应家猫的气味线索。因此，我们研究的目的是调查生活在半自然栖息地的成年草原田鼠（Microtus ochrogaster）对家猫排泄物气味线索的反应。与预期相反，成年男性或女性在空间使用或进入陷阱的意愿方面都没有表现出显着变化以应对猫的气味。解释我们结果的一种假设是，草原田鼠与家猫共同进化的时间还不够长，无法对它们的气味做出反应。其他可能的解释包括环境中的气味水平是否足以引发反应，或者仅凭气味线索感知到的捕食风险并未超过改变空间使用和活动水平的相对成本。在确定哪些线索足以引发反掠夺行为时，未来的研究应考虑多种因素。