Depriving native hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) continuously of water for 5 days significantly increased the likelihood of predation on nymphs of Locusta migratoria. Water-deprived subjects pouched the prey on more occasions, and they exhibited a significant decrease in latency to capture with repeated testing. These results have been replicated in other experiments conducted by the author. Additional research is needed to resolve the issue of the possible contaminating effects of food deprivation.
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