Responses of adult and immature rats to sex odors.

Carr, W. J.; Wylie, N. R.; Loeb, Leo

doi:10.1037/h0029326

Cited by 65 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Studies that fail to include individuals across all age categories are likely to lose valuable information about the changing role of social odours during different developmental stages. Although few studies examine developmental effects on odour discrimination, results generally show that as reproductive maturity is reached, preference for heterosexual odours increases (Carr, Wylie & Loeb, 1970;Drickamer & Brown, 1998). These odour preferences often develop in parallel with more general preferences for the opposite sex (Matuszczyk, Appa & Larsson, 1994), presumably because before reproductive maturity is reached, the individual does not perceive the opposite sex as a potential mate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urinary chemosignals in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): seasonal and developmental effects on signal discrimination

2004

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As a solitary species, giant pandas Ailuropoda melanoleuca have a chemical communication system that allows for avoidance with conspecifics throughout most of the year and facilitates breeding during their brief reproductive period. To date, most studies have focused on adults during the breeding season, but much remains to be learned about developmental and seasonal effects on chemical communication. Here, using odour discrimination methodology, we examine these contextual influences on chemosignalling in giant pandas for the first time. During the breeding season both adult and subadult giant pandas overtly discriminated conspecific sex using chemical cues in urine. Male urine was consistently investigated more than female urine by pandas across all age-sex categories. This preference for male urine was observed for both adult and subadult urine donors, indicating that adult levels of reproductive hormones are not necessary for the production of sex-specific urinary odour cues. By contrast, giant pandas did not overtly discriminate sex during the non-breeding season. This finding underscores that negative results for discrimination studies need to be interpreted with caution, as many contextual factors may influence overt expression of this ability. Evidence points to seasonal changes in motivation, rather than in the availability of sex-specific chemical cues in urine, as the causal factor for changing odour discrimination patterns. These and other findings are discussed in the light of the potential role that discrimination of odour plays in the regulation of competitive and reproductive interactions in nature.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urinary chemosignals in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): seasonal and developmental effects on signal discrimination

2004

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“…One might also expect chemosensory discrimination patterns to change with age, as the functional significance of odours varies between adult and subadult animals (Carr, Wylie & Loeb, 1970;Fillon & Bass, 1985;Drickamer, 1989Drickamer, , 1997Hurst, 1990b;Drickamer & Brown, 1998). For example, Solomon & Rumbaugh (1997) found that as pine voles reach maturity they shift from a preference for familiar family odours to a preference for odours from unfamiliar opposite-sexed individuals, and suggest that this shift is related to changing motivational and functional priorities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical communication in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): the role of age in the signaller and assessor

2003

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As a solitary species, giant pandas Ailuropoda melanoleuca appear to use chemical signals to maintain a communication network with individuals in the community with whom they have little direct contact. Chemosensory discrimination abilities undoubtedly play a large role in determining the efficiency of this communication system. The hypothesis that pandas could discriminate the age of the signaller was tested by presenting subjects with a simultaneous choice test between odours collected from adult and subadult donors. Twenty-eight pandas were tested with three types of stimuli: male urine; male anogenital gland secretions; female urine. The results indicate that individuals from both age classes readily discriminate between adult and subadult odours emanating from all three odour types, showing a pronounced investigatory preference for adult odours in all cases. Female reproductive condition influenced general responsiveness to male odours, but did not significantly alter adult/subadult discrimination patterns. The prevalence of overt discrimination across odour types and age classes suggests an important and multifunctional role for this ability, and highlights the importance of studying chemical communication at all developmental stages. It is proposed that these results may be explained in part by: (1) assessment of competitive ability, which correlates with the age class of the signaller; (2) identification of potential mates that have attained reproductive maturity.

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“…The reinforcement and withholding of reinforcement from a predecessor have also been shown to be conditions producing odors which can serve as conditioned stimuli for discrimination using runways (Ludvigson and Sytsma, 1967), and T-mazes (Morrison and Ludvigson, 1970). Male rats prefer odors from sexually receptive females to those from unreceptive females and males (LeMagnen, 1952;Carr, Loeb, and Dissinger, 1965;Carr, Wylie, and Loeb, 1970), and surfaces on which socially submissive animals have had contact are preferred over those from dominant rats (Krames, Carr, and Bergman;.…”

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confidence: 99%

Open-field responses of rats to odors from stressed and nonstressed predecessors

Stevens

Köster

1972

Behavioral Biology

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Male rats were observed on a clean table with extending runways. Paired comparisons were made with clean runways, those on which conspecifics had been stressed, and previously present but not stressed. The subjects stopped more frequently and for a longer duration on runways with predecessors than on clean ones. Stopping was more frequent on runways with stressed predecessors than with nonstressed predecessors. When runways from stressed predecessors were present, there was more frequent urination on the table than when those runways were not used, despite that in the former conditions the subjects spent considerably less time on the table than on the runways.Recent work has demonstrated that odors from surfaces previously occupied by a conspecific have important effects in the behavior of rats. Not only are these findings interesting with regard to their contribution to the general field of animal behavior, but are particularly important in view of the rat's extensive use in studies of learning and motivation, where such odor effects could confound experimentally manipulated variables. For example, the withholding of reinforcement from a rat that had been trained to run a straight alley produces an odor which results in an unconditioned decrement in the running speed of a subsequently tested animal (Wasserman and Jensen, 1969). The reinforcement and withholding of reinforcement from a predecessor have also been shown to be conditions producing odors which can serve as conditioned stimuli for discrimination using runways (Ludvigson and 1This research was done at

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Responses of adult and immature rats to sex odors.

Cited by 65 publications

References 11 publications

Urinary chemosignals in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): seasonal and developmental effects on signal discrimination

Urinary chemosignals in giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): seasonal and developmental effects on signal discrimination

Chemical communication in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca): the role of age in the signaller and assessor

Open-field responses of rats to odors from stressed and nonstressed predecessors

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