What kind of information do meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) use to distinguish between the top and bottom scent of an over-mark?

Scent over‐marking occurs when an animal deposits its scent mark on top of the scent mark of a conspecific; adjacent‐marking occurs when an animal deposits its scent mark next to the scent mark of a conspecific. Given that male rodents usually scent mark more than females and that animals spend more time investigating the odor of the top‐scent donor of an over‐mark, I tested the following three hypotheses. First, male meadow voles deposit more scent marks than female meadow voles. Second, male meadow voles will deposit more over‐marks and adjacent‐marks in response to the scent marks of a same‐sex conspecific than females would. Third, meadow voles spend more time investigating the odor of the second vole placed in the arena than that of the first vole placed in the arena. To test these hypotheses, two age‐matched, like‐sex conspecifics (first vole and second vole) were placed successively into an arena in which they were allowed to freely explore and scent mark for 15 min. The first hypothesis was not supported. The first and second vole, independently of sex, deposited a similar number of scent marks. The second hypothesis was also not supported by the data: more conspecific scent marks were over‐marked by the second female than by the second male. The third hypothesis was supported by the data. After investigating a scented arena, males and females spent more time investigating the odor of the second vole than that of the first vole. Sex differences in scent‐marking behaviors of meadow voles are unlike those reported for other species of rodents.

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Meadow Voles and Prairie Voles Differ in the Length of Time They Prefer the Top‐Scent Donor of an Over‐Mark

Ferkin

Leonard

Bartos

et al. 2001

Ethology

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Scent over‐marking occurs when one individual places its scent mark on top of one deposited by a conspecific. Studies have shown that animals investigating an over‐mark later behave as if the top‐scent mark is more important than the bottom‐scent mark. Differences in response to over‐marks may reflect differences in social and mating systems. Here, we ascertained the length of time that meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), exposed to an over‐mark, maintain a preference for the mark of the top‐scent donor compared with that of the bottom‐scent donor. If voles had no previous sexual experience with their top‐scent and bottom‐scent donors, male and female meadow voles maintained a preference for their top‐scent donor’s mark over their bottom‐scent donor’s mark for 48 h. In contrast, male and female prairie voles maintained such preferences for 24 h and 12 h, respectively. If voles had prior sexual experience with either their top‐ or bottom‐scent donor, such experience did not affect the length of time meadow voles and male prairie voles maintained a preference for their top‐scent donor. Female prairie voles maintained a 12‐h preference for the top‐scent mark if it belonged to the mate. If the mate was the bottom‐scent donor, female prairie voles showed no preference for it or the top‐scent mark. These findings are discussed within the framework that an association may exist between the manner in which voles respond to over‐marks and their social and mating systems.

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What kind of information do meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) use to distinguish between the top and bottom scent of an over-mark?

Cited by 6 publications

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Scent Over-Marking

Scent Over-Marking

Meadow Voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus, Arvicolidae) Over‐mark and Adjacent‐mark the Scent Marks of Same‐sex Conspecifics

Meadow Voles and Prairie Voles Differ in the Length of Time They Prefer the Top‐Scent Donor of an Over‐Mark

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