Abstract
The present study was conducted to clarify the stimulus characteristics of the foraging environment which influence food-handling behavior in rats. Twenty-one female and 20 male rats were trained to search for a piece of food that was located at the end of the elevated straight alley. Rats' food-carrying behavior was observed on both covered and uncovered straight alley under conventional room light condition, followed by uncovered straight alley under reduced illumination over it. The results show that reduced illumination over the uncovered straight alley increase carrying small food in female rats and large food in male rats. These results were discussed in terms of the central place foraging (CPF) model (Lima, Valone, & Caraco, 1985) and the predatory imminence continuum (Fanselow & Lester, 1988).
