Patterns of daily activity in the leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis darwini): effects of food availability

The daily locomotor activity pattern of the nocturnal sigmodontine rodent Phyllotis darwini was analysed when faced with a differential offer of food. Animals with restricted food supply were less active during the day compared to animals who had access to food ad libitum, but no differences in activity were observed during the night. Minimization of energy expenditure may account for this behavioural plasticity, and such flexibility is extremely important in the unpredictable and low productive environments inhabited by P. darwini