Determinants of social proximity in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica): Male behavior.

Abstract

Following opportunity to copulate with a female housed in an adjacent compartment, male Japanese quail spent 64% of their time near a window that provided visual access to the female (Experiment 1). This social proximity behavior persisted for at least 2 weeks of continual exposure to the window despite lack of further physical access to the female (Experiment 2) and was evident at all daylight hours (Experiment 3). Female Japanese quail stimulated more proximity behavior in male conspecifics than did other male Japanese quail or birds of other species (Experiments 4 and 5). However, many characteristics of the female quail were not critical. The female quail did not have to be previous sexual partners, familiar, sexually experienced, or reproductively competent to stimulate proximity behavior in males (Experiments 4 and 5). Experiment 6 demonstrated that the social proximity behavior was primarily a response to the visual aspects of the females. The results are discussed in relation to mate-guarding and surveillance behavior, and implications of the data for sexual classical conditioning of male Japanese quail are noted.

Topography in the preoptic region: Differential regulation of appetitive and consummatory male sexual behaviors

“…It was first discovered by Domjan and colleagues [61,62] (see [64] for a review) that when a male copulates with a female for a single time in an arena there is a marked change in his behavior. After copulating with a female, the male will stand in front of a window that provides him with visual access to the female for most of the day while he was ignoring this window before copulation [61,62].…”

“…After copulating with a female, the male will stand in front of a window that provides him with visual access to the female for most of the day while he was ignoring this window before copulation [61,62]. This robust response, called learned social proximity response, is reliably produced in the laboratory, easily quantifiable and provides a useful way to investigate the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating male appetitive sexual behavior [31].…”

“…Investigations in rats by Barrry Everitt and his colleagues suggesting a double dissociation between brain regions controlling appetitive and consummatory sexual behavior in rats [67,68] were especially important in stimulating recent work on circuit specializations related to the control of male sexual behavior. Sophisticated behavioral tests have now been designed to analyze in a reasonably independent manner these two aspects of sexual behavior [29,62,67,110,140]. Studies on appetitive male sexual behavior in a diverse set of species are particularly important from a clinical perspective.…”

Performance of appetitive or consummatory components of male sexual behavior is mediated by different brain areas: a 2-deoxyglucose autoradiographic study

“…In Japanese quail, appetitive sexual behavior (ASB) has been studied with the use of a variety of learning procedures developed by Domjan and his colleagues. [45][46][47] This behavior is testosterone-dependent, as demonstrated by the fact that low levels of circulating testosterone induced by exposing males to short photoperiods 39,76,83 or by surgical castration prevent the acquisition of the learned social proximity response commonly used to quantify ASB. 22,45 Moreover, males transferred from long days to short days will extinguish a previously acquired response.…”

Evidence of social effects on mate choice in vertebrates

“…Much is known both of the hormonal basis of their sexual behaviour (AdkinsRegan, 1995) and stimulus control of their mate selection (Domjan and Hall, 1986). Like guppies, mature quail will court and mate in the laboratory essentially whenever given an opportunity to do so.…”