Meadow voles self-grooming

Fig. 27.1 The amount of time that male meadow voles self-groomed in response to the odors of 2-3 mo old, 8-9 mo old, and 12-13 mo old female conspecifics. Histograms capped with different letters are statistically different (P < 0.05)...

The data were not normally distributed. Thus, we used a Kruskal-Wallis H-test on ranks to determine if significant differences existed in the amount of time male voles self-groomed when they were exposed to the different odor stimuli (H = 45.63, df = 5, P < 0.001). Male meadow voles spent more time self-grooming when they were exposed to odors of female meadow voles as compared to the odors of male meadow voles, male and female prairie voles, vanilla, and clean cotton (Dunn s test, p < 0.05 for all comparisons. Figure 1), Male meadow voles, however, spent similar amounts of time self-grooming in response to odors of male meadow voles, male and female prairie voles, vanilla, and clean cotton (Dunn s test, P > 0.05 for all comparisons Figure 1). 

The goal of this paper was to determine which of three hypotheses, redirected behavior, general arousal, or olfactory communication, best explained the response of meadow voles to the odors of conspecifics and heterospecifics. Briefly, voles self-groomed more in response to odors of opposite-sex conspecifics as compared to those of same-sex conspecifics odors, to those of heterospecifics, vanilla extract, and clean cotton. The data were not consistent with the predictions of the redirected behavior hypothesis (Fentress 1968 Delius 1979 van Erp et al. 1994). If self-grooming was a redirected... 

Much of the current data show that individuals spend different amounts of time self-grooming when they encounter particular opposite-sex conspecifics or their odors (Ferkin 2005, 2006 Ferkin and Leonard 2005). Thus, it is likely that an individual s age will also influence the amount of self-grooming. For instance, a study on meadow voles indicated that 12-13 mo old males spent more time than 2-3 and 8-9 mo old males investigating the scent marks of female conspecifics (Ferkin 1999). This study also found that and 8-9 mo-old female voles spent more time investigating the scent marks of 12-13 mo-old males than those of 8-9 mo-old and 2-3 mo-old males younger males (Ferkin 1999). These findings suggest that older male voles may be more interested in and attractive to females as compared... 

We measured the amount of time that 2-3, 8-9 and 12-13 mo old male and female meadow voles spent self-grooming when exposed to an 8 g piece of cotton nesting material scented by opposite-sex conspecifics that were either 2-3, 8-9 or 12-13 mo old. There were 12 different male and female subjects and 16 different opposite-sex scent donors used for each odor condition. Each subject underwent three selfgrooming tests, one test for each of the three age classes of scent donors. The order of the three tests was random. Subjects were not used as scent donors and vice versa. Scent donors and subjects were similar in size to one another (within 7 g) and were not related or familiar to one another. 

Ferkin, M. H. (2005) Self-grooming in meadow voles. In R. T. Mason, M. P. LeMaster, and D. Muller-Schwarze (Eds.), Chemical Signals in Vertebrates, Vol. 10, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 64-69. 

Ferkin, M. H., Sorokin, E.S., and Johnston, R.E. (1996) Self-grooming as a sexually dimorphic communicative behaviour in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus. Anim. Behav. 51, 801-810. 

Leonard, S. T., Alizadeh-Naderi, R., Stokes, K., and Ferkin, M. H. (2005) The role of prolactin and testosterone in mediating seasonal differences in the self-grooming behavior of male meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus. Physiol. Behav. 85 461 —468. 

Paz-y-Mino C. G, Leonard, S.T., Ferkin, M.H., and Trimble, J.F. (2002) Self-grooming and sibling recognition in meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and prairie voles (M. ochrogaster). Anim. Behav. 63, 331-338. 

Figure 1. Time that male meadow voles spent self-grooming when they were exposed to different odors. On the X-axis, the abbreviations Mp and Mo refer to meadow voles and prairie voles, respectively, vanilla refers vanilla extract and clean refers to clean bedding. Histograms capped with different letters are significantly different from one another (P < 0.05).

Protein content of the diet of male meadow voles had no effect on female proceptivity and receptivity. In experiment 1, female voles spent similar amounts of time self-grooming to bedding scented by males fed HP, MP, and LP diets. In experiment 2, protein content of the diet of males did not affect the sexual behavior of females. Specifically, the female s willingness to copulate and the PIL did not vary for males fed diets with different protein contents. The data do not support the hypothesis that the protein content of a male s diet affects the proceptive and receptive behaviors displayed by female conspecifics towards them. These results are not consistent with the... 

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