RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 No evidence for avoidance of black rat scent by the presumably less competitive Natal multimammate mouse in a choice experiment JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 103853 DO 10.1101/103853 A1 Laura N. Cuypers A1 Wim L. Cuypers A1 Amélie Gildemyn-Blomme A1 Laura Abraham A1 Senne Aertbeliën A1 Apia W. Massawe A1 Benny Borremans A1 Sophie Gryseels A1 Herwig Leirs YR 2017 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/01/28/103853.abstract AB In Africa, indigenous multimammate mice (Mastomys natalensis) only appear to live commensally in houses when invasive black rats (Rattus rattus) are absent, yet little is known about the underlying mechanism. Avoidance through smell may cause the absence of M. natalensis from areas occupied by R. rattus, but this hypothesis has not yet been tested. We conducted a Y-maze choice experiment where 15 M. natalensis were offered a choice between corridors containing conspecific scent, R. rattus scent, and a control scent. Residence time in the R. rattus corridor was greater than that in the control corridor but equal to that in the M. natalensis corridor, suggesting that multimammate mice do not actively avoid the scent of their invasive competitor.