Many species are ingenious architects (Frisch 1974) and animal artifacts can be considered as “extended phenotypes” and their complexity and “design” features evolve by
Tariquidar (Dawkins 1982). This idea assumes that the design features of artifacts are influenced by genetic variation, and some evidence supports this possibility. For example, there is a genetic basis for architectural skills of penduline tits Remiz pendulinus ( Hoi et al. 1996) and the nest-building behavior of house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) ( Lee 1973; Bult and Lynch 1996). One common function of animal architecture is to provide protection against adverse environmental conditions such as low or high ambient temperatures, and over-winter survival is often a crucial factor for small mammals ( Millar and Teferi 1993; Koskelka 1998; Jackson et al. 2001; Aars and Ims 2002; Sendor and Simon 2003). In
palynology study, we examined the mounds of the mound-building mouse (Mus spicilegus), and our goal was to measure variation in size and composition of the mounds in different habitats to obtain insights into the environmental correlates.
