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Garris SS, Rohrer KN, Ferkin MH. Impact of food availability and predator cues on meadow vole response to social vs. non-social odorants. BEHAVIOUR 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The risk of predation and food deprivation may alter the degree to which animals associate with conspecifics. We examined if food deprivation, the risk of predation, or simultaneous exposure to both altered meadow voles’ preference for odour cues in a way that adheres to the terminal investment, safety in numbers, or avoidance hypotheses. Satiated or food-deprived meadow voles were given the choice to investigate either opposite-sex conspecific bedding, same-sex conspecific bedding, clean bedding, or self-bedding when exposed to mink urine or olive oil. Mink urine and food deprivation did not impact the amount of time meadow voles spent with each type of bedding, but meadow voles did begin investigating more quickly when experiencing either or both stressors. However, food deprivation and mink urine did not have an additive impact on any measured variable. Further research is needed to determine if the terminal investment hypothesis is the hypothesis that best describes the mating behaviour of meadow voles facing one or multiple stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah S. Garris
- Department of Biological Science, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis TN 38152, USA
| | - Karl N. Rohrer
- Department of Biological Science, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis TN 38152, USA
| | - Michael H. Ferkin
- Department of Biological Science, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis TN 38152, USA
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Garris SS, Pierson LM, Ferkin MH. Meadow voles differentiate between scents of different sources. BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Scent marks are an important means of transmitting information between rodents, and they can be produced from several body sources. Previous studies have shown that scents from multiple sources can convey the same information; female meadow voles, for example, have three scent sources that communicate sex. However, possessing three separate sources that convey the same information is likely costly due to the metabolic energy required to produce these signals and the increased chance that eavesdropping individuals may intercept information present in these signals. In this study, we investigated if these scent sources could communicate other information, in addition to scent donor sex, by determining if male meadow voles could distinguish scent marks taken from different sources of a single female scent donor. This was accomplished with a habituation-test method, that allowed us to compare how male meadow voles differently investigate scent from a familiar and novel source of a female scent donor. Male meadow voles could distinguish between faeces and urine scent marks of a female, but could only distinguish mouth from urine and faeces scent marks when first familiarized with mouth scent marks. Our findings suggest that mouth, urine, and faeces scent marks of female meadow voles produce both redundant and distinct information. The overlap in information between scent marks produced from separate sources may be needed to provide social context, which allows receiving individuals to accurately weigh the tradeoffs associated with responding to an olfactory cue. While this overlap in information remains costly, this cost may be minimized by the different fade-out times of scent marks from distinct body sources, which may limit the amount of time information in a scent mark is available to a time period where this information is socially relevant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah S. Garris
- Department of Biological Science, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis TN 38152, USA
| | - Lyndsey M. Pierson
- Department of Biological Science, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis TN 38152, USA
- Department of Biology, Christian Brothers University, Cooper-Wilson Center, Memphis, TN 38104, USA
| | - Michael H. Ferkin
- Department of Biological Science, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis TN 38152, USA
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Increased burrow oxygen levels trigger defensive burrow-sealing behavior by plateau zokors. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19088. [PMID: 34580363 PMCID: PMC8476587 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-98551-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Defensive behaviors are a response to immediate and potential threats in the environment, including abiotic and biotic threats. Subterranean rodents exhibit morphological and physiological adaptions for life underground, and they will seal with mounds and additional plugs when their burrow opened. However, little is known about the factors driving this defensive behavior. In this study, we selected a subterranean rodent, plateau zokor (Myospalax fontanieri), as a species to investigate (both in the laboratory and in the field) the possible factors responsible for burrow-sealing behavior. Our results showed that: (1) In the laboratory, the burrow-sealing frequency of plateau zokor in response to five factors were as follows: oxygen (52.63%) > light (34.58%) > temperature (20.24%) > gas flow (6.48%) > sound/control (0%). Except for light, the burrow-sealing frequency in response to other factors was significantly lower than that in response to oxygen (P < 0.05). (2) Burrow-sealing behavior in response to each treatment did not differ significantly between males and females in the laboratory experiment. (3) In the field, during the animal’s active periods in both the cold and warm season, the burrow-sealing frequency under the oxygen treatment was higher than that under the light and temperature treatments. Plateau zokors were found not to be sensitive to these treatments during their inactive periods during both the cold and warm season. (4) The latency to reseal the burrow showed no obvious differences between each treatment both in the laboratory and in the field. In conclusion, the main factor that influences the burrow-sealing behavior of plateau zokors is the variation in oxygen concentration, and this defensive behavior is related to their activity rhythm.
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Volodin IA, Dymskaya MM, Smorkatcheva AV, Volodina EV. Ultrasound from underground: cryptic communication in subterranean wild-living and captive northern mole voles (Ellobius talpinus). BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.1960191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ilya A. Volodin
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Margarita M. Dymskaya
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | | | - Elena V. Volodina
- Department of Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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McClanahan K, Rosell F. Conspecific recognition of pedal scent in domestic dogs. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17837. [PMID: 33082433 PMCID: PMC7576167 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74784-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Carnivores rely heavily on scent to communicate with conspecifics. Scent glands located on the underside of the feet provide an especially efficient way of leaving a scent trail. Although domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) are well-known for their olfactory abilities and scent marking behaviours, their use of pedal scent for communication remains unknown. We studied the reaction of intact dogs of both sexes to male and female pedal scent as well as a control sample of scent taken from the ground, using sniffing time and nostril usage as an indicator of interest level and emotional valence. In male subjects, only the sniffing duration for other males differed from the control samples, with no clear difference detected between male and female scent. Females showed no difference in the sniffing duration for any sample type. Conversely, male nostril use did not differ between the sample types, whereas females demonstrated a right nostril bias when sniffing the scent from other females and a left nostril bias when sniffing the control. We have shown that dogs recognize scent taken from the pedal glands from other dogs, although the extent to which they use this information to determine the sex of the scent depositor remains unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kari McClanahan
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Bø in Telemark, Norway
| | - Frank Rosell
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Bø in Telemark, Norway.
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Fanjul MS, Zenuto RR. Female choice, male dominance and condition-related traits in the polygynous subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum. Behav Processes 2017; 142:46-55. [PMID: 28591643 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.05.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2016] [Revised: 03/31/2017] [Accepted: 05/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Ctenomys talarum is a solitary and highly territorial species in which dominant males aggressively deter other males and monopolize reproductive activity. Female preference for dominant males is not easy to assess due to coercive mating by males. Hence, we aimed to answer if behavioural dominance and several condition-related traits like testosterone and cortisol levels, endoparasite load, and hematocrit volume may affect female preference when they have the opportunity to exert it. We designed a laboratory experiment using wild-caught C. talarum and employed a combined approach involving behavioural observations and the measurements of parameters of physical condition. We staged dyadic encounters between males to determine dominance index and then analyzed female preference towards tethered males (n=15) or their odours (n=18). Male dominance did not affect female preferences when odours were presented. When two tethered males were offered, females preferred those with higher dominance index. Preference of females for dominant males would mainly represent indirect benefits. Females did not show preference for males in relation to any physiological trait evaluated. Dominance was found negatively related to cortisol levels, probably avoiding the glucocorticoids-related costs, and positively related to parasite diversity, since they could tolerate it without impairing their health.
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Affiliation(s)
- M S Fanjul
- Grupo 'Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento', Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Box 1260, CP 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina.
| | - R R Zenuto
- Grupo 'Ecología Fisiológica y del Comportamiento', Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Box 1260, CP 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
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Fanjul MS, Zenuto RR. When allowed, females prefer novel males in the polygynous subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum (tuco-tuco). Behav Processes 2012; 92:71-8. [PMID: 23164625 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2012.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2012] [Revised: 10/04/2012] [Accepted: 10/23/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The ability to recognize familiar conspecifics plays an important role at the time of choosing a mating partner in rodents. A laboratory study using preference test was used in order to test the hypothesis that, in the polygynous subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum, females prefer novel males when offered two odors, or individuals (one familiar and one novel) limited in their movements so that male aggression is prevented. Our findings show that females prefer novel tuco-tucos at three levels of male assessment: odor samples (consisting of shavings soiled with urine, feces, and presumably, other body secretions collected from the male home cage), confined males behind a wire mesh, and full contact with tethered males. Previous studies of this species demonstrated that in the wild, male-male competition and male coercion severely limit the possibility of females mating non-neighbors, i.e. novel males. Females mating neighbors to whom they are familiarized, obtain high quality mating since they are territorial, highly competitive males. Nonetheless, when females have the opportunity, as shown in the two-choice experiments, they choose novel males, probably benefiting their progeny from novel genetic combinations. Hence, combining evidence from laboratory and field studies in C. talarum, it is possible to better understand female preferences in modeling individual reproductive strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Sol Fanjul
- Grupo Ecología fisiológica y del comportamiento, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Box 1245, 7600 Mar del Plata, Argentina.
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Cutrera AP, Fanjul MS, Zenuto RR. Females prefer good genes: MHC-associated mate choice in wild and captive tuco-tucos. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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Echeverría AI, Vassallo AI. Role of maternal odors on foraging behavior during postnatal development in a solitary subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum. Acta Ethol 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-011-0113-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Fanjul MS, Zenuto RR. Female reproductive behaviour, ovarian hormones and vaginal cytology of the induced ovulator, Ctenomys talarum. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-011-0048-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Francescoli G. Tuco-tucos’ vocalization output varies seasonally (Ctenomys pearsoni; Rodentia, Ctenomyidae): implications for reproductive signaling. Acta Ethol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-010-0083-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Zenuto RR. Dear enemy relationships in the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum: the role of memory of familiar odours. Anim Behav 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.02.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Parasitism underground: determinants of helminth infections in two species of subterranean rodents (Octodontidae). Parasitology 2010; 137:1569-75. [DOI: 10.1017/s0031182010000351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARYPatterns of infection among hosts in a population are often driven by intrinsic host features such as age or sex, as well as by positive or negative interactions between parasite species. We investigated helminth parasitism in 2 South American rodent species,Ctenomys australisandC. talarum(Octodontidae), to determine whether the unusual solitary and subterranean nature of these hosts would impact their patterns of infection. We applied generalized linear models to infection data on a total of 7 helminth species (1 inC. australisand 6 inC. talarum). Host age and season of capture influenced infection levels in some of the helminth species, but none were influenced by host body condition. InC. talarum, 4 pairs of helminth species showed significant associations, either asymmetrical or symmetrical, and with 3 of the 4 being positive; strong inter-specific facilitation appears likely in 1 case. Also, we found that female hosts, especially non-pregnant ones, harboured heavier infections of 2 nematode species than male hosts. This is in sharp contrast to the general male-bias reported for most studies of nematodes in wild mammals, and we develop explanations for these results based on the unusual ecology of these subterranean rodents.
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Female reproductive responses to photoperiod and male odours in the subterranean rodentCtenomys talarum. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1007/bf03194280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Zenuto RR, Estavillo C, Fanjul MS. Familiarity and mating behavior in the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum (tuco-tuco). CAN J ZOOL 2007. [DOI: 10.1139/z07-078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Biological odors that convey cues regarding individual identity are known to alter mating behavior in some rodents. Deposition of chemical signals by males on the substrate could give females information about their neighbors’ identity and allow familiarization with their odors. This study tested whether familiarization of females with conspecific male odors affects mating behavior in Ctenomys talarum Thomas, 1898, facilitating mating as a consequence of a decrease in aggressive behavior and an increase in sexual behavior. Tuco-tucos are solitary subterranean rodents that occupy and defend adjacent burrows. Both sexes usually scent-mark burrow openings, providing odor signals to neighbors during their aboveground patrolling and foraging activities. Hence, familiarity by odor cues may represent an important mechanism that mediates neighbor recognition and probably mate selection. In this study, familiarity was established by housing females with male odors for 8 days. In C. talarum, individual recognition by olfactory cues may reduce mating costs when pairing with neighbors, since females showed low aggression towards familiar males and copulations were not repeated in consecutive days. Females that were not exposed to male odors were more aggressive, but surprisingly these pairs copulated repeatedly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roxana R. Zenuto
- Laboratorio de Ecofisiología, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, cc 245, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
| | - Candelaria Estavillo
- Laboratorio de Ecofisiología, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, cc 245, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
| | - María Sol Fanjul
- Laboratorio de Ecofisiología, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, cc 245, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
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Schleich CE, Zenuto R. Use of vegetation chemical signals for digging orientation in the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae). Ethology 2007. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2007.01352.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Hagemeyer P, Begall S. Individual Odour Similarity and Discrimination in the Coruro (Spalacopus cyanus, Octodontidae). Ethology 2006. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01198.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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