Environmental conditions change considerably in the course of 24 h wit h respect to abiotic factors and intra- and interspecific interactions . These changes result in limited time windows of opportunity for anim al activities and, hence, the question of when to do what is subject t o fitness maximization. This volume gives a current overview of theore tical considerations and empirical findings of activity patterns in sm all mammals, a group in which the energetic and ecological constraints are particularly severe and the diversity of activity patterns is par ticularly high. Following a...

Environmental conditions change considerably in the course of 24 h with respect to abiotic factors and intra- and interspecific interactions. These changes result in limited time windows of opportunity for animal activities and, hence, the question of when to do what is subject to fitness maximisation. This volume gives a current overview of theoretical considerations and empirical findings of activity patterns in small mammals, a group in which the energetic and ecological constraints are particularly severe and the diversity of activity patterns is particularly high. Following a comparative...