人類或動物普遍會在居住的場所以外地區進行排遺，遠離自己所產生的糞便不但可以降低病菌感染與被寄生的風險，可能也可以減少被捕食的機會。看似簡單的行為其實牽涉到複雜的行為決策，然而，動物究竟如何決定排遺在特定或非特定的區域，背後的機制卻甚少有人研究。本論文利用實驗小鼠（Mus Musculus）作為我們的模式生物來檢視排遺分布行為，在標準飼養籠中，藉由比較巢內外的糞便數量，我們在不同年紀、性別與飼養環境中都觀察到小鼠有明顯巢外排泄的傾向。我們的實驗同時顯示此行為會受到視覺遮蔽而更明顯，更重要的是，我們透過結紮手術的小鼠發現性激素的調控在此行為中似乎扮演著非常重要的角色。本論文建立一個極為簡易的方法檢視小鼠的排遺隔離行為，此方法將對未來的研究提供新的機會探討排遺隔離行為背後的神經機制或生態上的意義。

Defecation is a universal behavior in animals. It is not only about the hygiene of the living environment, but also has an absolute relationship with animal health. While human beings usually defecate in fixed locations, some animals, however, drop their feces in random places. How and why animals make decisions to defecate in specific or in rondom location were rarely explored. In this study, we used laboratory mice (Mus musculus) as a model and showed that mice have the tendency to drop feces outside their nest in the standard cage. We conducted a series of behavioral experiments to explore possible parameters related to defecation behavior, including social interaction, age, gender, nesting environment, stress, hormone and sensory inputs. Our results also suggested that the behavior was affected by castration and visual deprivation. Our study therefore established a simple method to observe the defecation behavior of mice. This study provided new opportunities for future research in understanding of ecological or neural mechanisms behind this behavior.

Abstract---------------ii
中文摘要---------------iii
致謝--------------------iv
第一章 、緒論 1
第二章 、材料與方法 4
第一節 、實驗小鼠 4
第二節 、實驗流程 4
第三節 、巢穴的定義 4
第四節 、拍攝裝置 6
第五節 、實驗小鼠之處理 6
第六節 、特殊處理 7
第七節 、數據分析 8
第三章 、結果 10
第一節 、行為確立 10
第二節 、環境條件 14
第三節 、感官剝奪 18
第四節 、壓力賀爾蒙 21
第五節 、性激素 23
第四章 、討論與結論 29
第一節 、行為確立 29
第二節 、本能行為或學習行為 29
第三節 、感官剝奪的影響 30
第四節 、壓力賀爾蒙的影響 30
第五節 、性激素的影響 31
第六節 、實驗設計之改良 31
第七節 、結論 32
參考文獻 34

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