grooming_behavior-fecal_corticosterone_metabolites-wild_mice

The relationship between grooming and stress in wild populations is unclear but important to study as grooming may be a behavioral indicator of stress. In laboratory studies, grooming behavior tends to increase in moderately stressful conditions and decrease in conditions of low and high stress. We test this trend in wild populations of deer mice across a gradient of small mammal density and find similar results. We also find that grooming behavior is repeatable at the within-individual level, indicating that animal personality may play a role in stress-coping. Altogether, our results suggest that observations from laboratory mice may be relevant to wild populations and that grooming behavior can act as a window to stress, provided environmental context is considered.<br>