Seed-hoarding of Edward’s long-tailed rats Leopoldamys edwardsi in response to weevil infestation in cork oak Quercus variabilis

Abstract

Abstract Seed hoarders show different hoarding and eating responses towards insect-infested seeds that can affect the fitness of both the seeds and insects. It remains unclear how seed hoarders adopt different strategies in eating and hoarding infested seeds with and without larvae concealed inside. Here we investigated hoarding and eating responses of Edward’s long-tailed rats Leopoldamys edwardsi (scatter hoarders) to weevil infestation of cork oak Quercus variabilis seeds within outdoor enclosures. We provided sound seeds, larvae-emerged seeds, (infested seeds where larvae have emerged) and larvae-concealed seeds (infested seeds with larvae concealed inside) to subjects independently (each seed type presented separately) and in pairwise combinations (sound and larvae-emerged seeds; sound and larvae-concealed seeds). We found that L. edwardsi removed, scatter hoarded and ate fewer larvae-emerged seeds than sound seeds. No difference was found between sound seeds and larvae-concealed seeds. These results suggest that sound and larvae-concealed seeds are more favored by L. edwardsi than larvae-emerged seeds. We posit that not only plants but also insects may benefit from the behavioral responses of hoarders to seed infestation under natural conditions.