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Many of our experiments are conducted in the "semi-natural" environment we call "The Barn".
Allowing mice to live in natural, competitive conditions should give us a more realistic
estimate of the effects of our experimental parameters on fitness.
| The barn contains six pens, each subdivided into "territories" with hardware cloth. Additional coils of hardware cloth add spatial complexity. Numerous food, water and nest sites are provided. |
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| Daily observations are made in order to gain information about behavior. Individual mice are monitored by reading "earpunches" - small holes we punch in mouse ears that code for id numbers. |
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| Close up of an individual pen. |
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| A litter of mice |
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| Mice can climb a wire to a "refuge" suspended above the pen. |
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