Odor Communication and Mate Choice in Rodents

Ferkin, Michael H.

doi:10.3390/biology7010013

Cited by 42 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 152 publications

(262 reference statements)

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“…Previous studies showed that the frequency of self‐grooming in rodents, such as ground squirrels and hedgehogs, is higher when they encounter odor from opposite‐sex conspecifics than when they encounter odor from same‐sex conspecifics (Brockie, ; Ferkin, ; Ferkin, Sorokin, & Johnston, ; Steiner, ; Yu et al, ). This is may be due to the possibility that self‐grooming is a means by which animals communicate with opposite sex and select mates (Achiraman et al, ; Ferkin, , ; Yu et al, ). Therefore, in general, animals respond more intensely to the odor from opposite sex (Ferkin, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of external odor on self‐grooming of lesser flat‐headed bats, Tylonycteris pachypus

Liang¹,

Yang²,

Xie³

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Grooming is a common behavior of some mammals. Previous studies have shown that grooming is a means by which animals clean themselves, remove ectoparasites, and lower their body temperature. It is also involved in olfactory communication. Bats belong to the order Chiroptera and, like most mammals, are the natural host of many ectoparasites. Bat grooming, including licking and scratching, is one of the ways to reduce the adverse effects caused by ectoparasites. Bat grooming may also be induced by exogenous odor. In this study, we used lesser flat‐headed bats ( Tylonycteris pachypus ) to test the hypothesis that exogenous odor affects the self‐grooming behavior of bats. Results showed that external odor from distantly related species caused lesser flat‐headed bats to spend more time in self‐grooming. Lesser flat‐headed bats that received odor from humans spent the longest time in self‐grooming, followed by those that received odor from a different species of bats ( T. robustula ). Lesser flat‐headed bats that received odor form the same species of bats, either from the same or a different colony, spent the least amount of time in self‐grooming. These results suggest that bats can recognize conspecific and heterospecific through body scent.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of external odor on self‐grooming of lesser flat‐headed bats, Tylonycteris pachypus

Liang¹,

Yang²,

Xie³

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…A large body of evidence suggests that chemosensory cues can alone mediate several types of social recognition 48,49 , such as mate and kin recognition 25,[50][51][52][53][54] . In the case of familiarity recognition, the picture is less clear.…”

Section: Social Recognition By Chemosensory Cuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social recognition in rats and mice requires integration of olfactory, somatosensory and auditory cues

Netser

Magalnik

et al. 2020

Preprint

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In humans, discrimination between individuals, also termed social recognition, can rely on a single sensory modality, such as vision. By analogy, social recognition in rodents is thought to be based upon olfaction. Here, we hypothesized that social recognition in rodents relies upon integration of olfactory, auditory and somatosensory cues, hence requiring active behavior of social stimuli. Using distinct social recognition tests, we demonstrated that adult male rats and mice do not recognize familiar stimuli or learn the identity of novel stimuli that are inactive due to anesthesia. We further revealed that impairing the olfactory, somatosensory or auditory systems prevents recognition of familiar stimuli. Finally, we found that familiar and novel stimuli generate distinct movement patterns during social discrimination and that subjects react differentially to the movement of these stimuli. Thus, unlike what occurs in humans, social recognition in rats and mice relies on integration of information from several sensory modalities.

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“…While searching for mates, adult male meadow voles will likely enter both familiar and unfamiliar areas (Boonstra, Xia, & Pavone, 1993;Madison, 1980aMadison, , 1980b during their daily wanderings (Batzli, 1985). If they are to gain mating opportunities, male voles would need to attend to and recollect the scent marks of several potential mates, as well as their location and reproductive status (Ferkin, 2015(Ferkin, , 2018Ferkin, Combs, delBarco-Trillo, Pierce, & Franklin, 2008). Male meadow voles that can recall the location of a female's nest should achieve higher reproductive success because female meadow voles are more likely to mate with males that visit their nest often (Spritzer et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These cues are able to communicate an assortment of information like territory ownership, social, reproductive, health and nutritional status, sex, age, species and enable recognition of individuals (Borelli et al., 2009; Doty, 1986; Eisenberg & Kleiman, 1972; Halpin, 1986; Johnson, 1973; Ralls, 1971). This information would be distinct and unique to that scent donor (Johnston, 2003; Thom & Hurst, 2004) and be individually discernible to the receiver (Ferkin, 2018; Ferkin & Johnston, 1995; Halpin, 1986). The receiver can use this information to discriminate scents based on individuality or grouping, such as kin‐non‐kin, neighbor–stranger, conspecific–heterospecific, colony‐non‐colony, and so on (Halpin, 1986; Johnston & delBarco‐Trillo, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in olfactory social recognition memory in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus

2020

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Terrestrial mammals, like rodents, use odors, and scent marks to indicate their presence in an area to conspecifics. These odors convey information about the scent donor's genotype, sex, condition, and age. The ability to discriminate among the scent marks of conspecifics and later recollect the identity of the donor is essential for choosing between familiar and unfamiliar mates. We tested the hypothesis that the promiscuous meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) can recollect the odor of a familiar, opposite‐sex conspecific and distinguish it from that of an unfamiliar, opposite‐sex conspecific. We also hypothesized that because reproductive success is highly skewed among male meadow voles and competition for mates is intense, males will be more likely than females to recollect the odor of a familiar, opposite‐sex conspecific and distinguish it from that of an unfamiliar, opposite‐sex conspecific, for a longer period of time. Using a habituation task, we first exposed the voles, 4 times successively, to the anogenital area scent of an opposite‐sex conspecific. Then, 1 hr, 24 hrs, 72 hrs, or 96 hrs after the fourth exposure, voles were presented with the odor of the donor from the exposure phase (familiar donor) and that of an unfamiliar, opposite‐sex conspecific. Female meadow voles spent similar amounts of time investigating the scent of the familiar male donor and that of an unfamiliar male donor after the 1‐hr and 24‐hr intervals. Male meadow voles, however, spent more time with the scent of an unfamiliar female donor than that of the familiar female donor after the 1‐hr, 24‐hr, and 72‐hr intervals, suggesting that male voles could recollect the scent mark of a familiar female for at least three days. The implications of these sex differences in social memory may reflect the different strategies male and female meadow voles use in the recognition of previous and potential mates. Recognition of an individual's scents may enhance fitness by allowing animals to direct appropriate behaviors toward those individuals.

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Odor Communication and Mate Choice in Rodents

Cited by 42 publications

References 152 publications

Impact of external odor on self‐grooming of lesser flat‐headed bats, Tylonycteris pachypus

Impact of external odor on self‐grooming of lesser flat‐headed bats, Tylonycteris pachypus

Social recognition in rats and mice requires integration of olfactory, somatosensory and auditory cues

Sex differences in olfactory social recognition memory in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus

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