THE IMPACT OF BACKGROUND AND ELEVATED ANXIETY ON THE REPRODUCTION OF DWARF NORTH AFRICAN GERBIL ( GERBILLUS CAMPESTRIS ) IN CAPTIVITY
The authors attempted to assess the effect of various stress factors on the success of the reproduction of the North African gerbil (Gerbillus campestris). The study was conducted on an artifi cial population of gerbils, for many generations contained in the Moscow Zoo. The effect of differences in the attendance of people in rooms with animals on the success of their reproduction, as well as the presence or absence of large hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus villosus) in the rooms was evaluated. Data for two rooms, the attendance staff for which differed twice was analyzed. However, a comparison of the breeding success of animals showed no signifi cant differences. The fear of novelty, assessed in the “exit from the shelter” test for animals from a room where people were more often, was slightly higher than for animals from another room. At the same time, the appearance of large hairy armadillo in the same room with the gerbils increased the success of the gerbil reproduction. After the removal of armadillos, the success of gerbil reproduction increased even more. The totality of the obtained data leads the authors to the conclusion that, in the case of gerbils, the optimum stress level during reproduction is signifi cantly higher than in the study of the new space. The background stress level of the studied animals was, apparently, below the optimum value for reproduction.