Experiment 3
THE EFFCT OF TEMPERATURE ON THE PREFERENCE OF FEMALE HAMSTERS FOR WINDY OR CALM CONDITIONS DURING PEAK LACTATION
Significantly more pups were moved to sheltered cages at an ambient temperature of 21°C than at 32.5°C (6:00,t 28=20.39, P <0.01, Figure 7A), and conversely, significantly more were moved to cages exposed to simulated wind at 32.5°C than at 21°C (21:50,t 28=15.81, P <0.01, Figure 7B). Females clearly preferred to move their pups to sheltered cages at 21°C, whereas at 32.5°C this preference was less clear-cut (Supplementary materials, Figure S1A).
Temperature had a significantly effect on cage preference both during the day and night. Females kept at an ambient temperature of 32.5°C spent considerably less time in sheltered cages (6:00, t28=4.78, P<0.01, Figure 7C) compared to those kept at 21°C (21:00, t 28=6.55,P <0.01, Figure 7D). These results suggest that females during the peak of lactation preferred simulated windy conditions at 32.5°C and sheltered conditions at 21°C (Figure 7C, 7D, Figure S2).