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The influence of environmentally stimulated aggressive behaviour on body weight development and body composition was studied in 90 male HLG/Zte inbred mice between day 61 and 125 of life. Male mice were kept in groups of three in Macrolon cages type III (800 cm(2)) as controls (C-groups) or in two different enriched cages (6500 cm(2)) structured either by a closed passage-way of 7.8 m (P-groups) or by 13 parallel-arranged open corridors (O-group) between fodder rack and water bottle.The number of inflicted bites as an indicator of aggressive behaviour was about 45 times higher in the P-groups than in the C- and O-groups. In P-groups the bites were predominantly found on tails (60%), while in the other two groups 90% occurred on the back.A negative correlation was found between the number of body wounds and the body weight in I-groups. Their body weight development was already significantly delayed after two weeks of differential caging compared with controls. Similarly weighing C- and O-groups showed significant differences in the body composition, i.e. standard laboratory caged C-groups were fatter. The body fat content of I-groups amounted to only about half that of the controls, which was exclusively responsible for their lower body weight.We assume that only in the I-cages the environment induced the establishment of a strong territorial dominance maintained by a single male, because it was easily possible to occupy the only existing way between fodder rack and water bottle. By contrast, a single male in the O-groups was not able to control the numerous ways to the fodder rack. The Macrolon cages were possibly too small and unstructured to establish territorial behaviour

Adipose-tissue. --- Aggressive. --- Behaviour. --- Bite. --- Bites. --- Body composition. --- Body weight. --- Body-weight. --- Cage. --- Caging. --- Control. --- Development. --- Dominance. --- Enriched. --- Enrichment. --- Environment. --- Environmental enrichment. --- Exercise. --- Fat. --- Group. --- Kept. --- Laboratory mice. --- Laboratory. --- Life. --- Male mice,hlg inbred strain,environmental enrichment,aggressive behaviour,body weight gain,body fat,body composition. --- Male-mice. --- Male. --- Mice. --- Time. --- Weight development. --- Weight.