Meadow voles and prairie voles differ in the percentage of conspecific marks they over-mark

Ferkin, Michael H.; Li, Hong Z.; Leonard, Stuart T.

doi:10.1007/s10211-004-0089-x

Cited by 34 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Scent marking took place in a T-shaped arena constructed of opaque green acrylic, which simulates an intersection of two vole runways (Ferkin et al 2004; Hobbs and Ferkin 2011a). Arms and stem of the arena measured 25 cm long × 13 cm wide × 15 cm high.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many species of small mammals, females compete for territories (Wolff 1993), and over-mark the scent marks of female conspecifics (Hurst 1990; Ferkin et al 2004). For example, female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus , scent mark within their territories (Brown and Macdonald 1985) and presumably over-mark the scent marks of female conspecifics to signal their residency in that area (Ferkin et al 2004; Ferkin and Pierce 2007). However, female voles occupy territories that vary in the quality and quantity of forage (Madison 1980; Batzli 1985; Bergeron and Jodoin 1989; Bergeron et al 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, do not alter their over-marking in response to female conspecifics that were food deprived

Vlautin

Ferkin

2013

acta ethol

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Many terrestrial mammals will deposit scent marks and over-marks, the latter being the overlapping scent marks of two conspecifics. Studies have shown that male rodents that are exposed to the overlapping scent marks of two female conspecifics later spend more time investigating the mark of the top-scent female than that of the bottom-scent female. This suggests over-marking is a form of competition and that the top-scent female is more likely than the bottom-scent female to be chosen as a potential mate. Thus, females should over-mark the scents of neighboring females at a rate that will maximize their chances of attracting males. However, meadow voles live in areas that may contain patchy food availability, and residents may differ in their nutritional status. Females in a better nutritional state may be more likely than those in poorer nutritional states to indicate their presence in an area, signal possession of a territory, and to attract mates. Thus, we tested the prediction that female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, that were not food deprived would deposit more over-marks than female voles that were food deprived for six hours. Food-deprived female voles and female voles that had continuous access to food deposited a similar number of scent marks and used a similar proportion of those marks as over-marks when they encountered the scent marks of female conspecifics. These findings suggest that the nutritional status of female voles does not affect their ability to signal their presence in an area marked by a female conspecific.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, do not alter their over-marking in response to female conspecifics that were food deprived

Vlautin

Ferkin

2013

acta ethol

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“…Third, in the study involving prairie voles, the identity of the top-and bottom-scent male donors was arbitrary. Given that female prairie voles form pair bonds with their mates (Carter and Getz 1993), it is likely that, if the mate was present in the territory, his marks would be more likely to be on top of those of male intruders (Ferkin et al 2004b). Fourth, Thomas (2002) examined the response of females to tethered male prairie voles, a situation that does not resemble the mating behavior of voles in free-living populations (Carter and Getz 1993;Getz and Carter 1996).…”

Section: Is It Better To Be On Top Than On the Bottom Of An Over-mark?mentioning

confidence: 97%

Perspectives on over-marking: is it good to be on top?

Ferkin

Pierce

2006

J Ethol

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What we refer to as over-marking occurs when one individual places its scent mark on top of, touching, or adjacent to the scent mark of another individual, usually a conspecific. Over-marking frequently occurs among mammals that share common paths, trails, and runways. Despite its ubiquity among terrestrial mammals, we know little about how individuals respond to over-marks and the function(s) of over-marking. Studies on voles and golden hamsters indicate that after exploring an over-mark, individuals respond selectively to the mark of the top-scent donor relative to that of the bottom-scent donor. Thus, individuals may be able to focus their attention on a particular scent mark relevant at a particular time and in a particular context, neglecting other scent marks that are present. The function(s) of over-marking are examined within the framework of ten hypotheses. Several hypotheses are plausible. However, the bulk of the literature is consistent with hypotheses stating that over-marking serving a role in olfactory communication between opposite and same-sex conspecifics. Lastly, we postulate the costs and benefits that may be garnered by the top-scent donor of an over-mark.

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“…One possible tactic to limit rival male access to information on female reproductive state is for dominant males to overmark female scent marks (Lewis 2005). This male reproductive tactic is common in several species of vole (Ferkin et al 2004), has been shown to occur in ring-tailed lemurs (Kappeler 1998), and is suggested for owl monkeys (Wolovich and Evans 2007). In sifaka, males overmark female scent marks more frequently in the mating season and during intergroup encounters (Lewis 2005).…”

Section: Olfactory Cues To Female Receptive Statementioning

confidence: 99%

Mate-Guarding as a Male Reproductive Tactic in Propithecus verreauxi

2009

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Sexual selection theory predicts that in group-living mammals, male reproductive tactics can lead to high reproductive skew in favor of dominant individuals. In sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), a group-living primate with extremely seasonal reproduction, male reproductive success is highly skewed because dominant males sire almost all offspring despite a tendency toward an even adult group sex ratio. To understand the underlying behavioral mechanism resulting in this rank-related reproductive skew in male sifakas, we studied mate-guarding as a potential reproductive tactic. Behavioral observations of dominant males and adult females in combination with hormonal determination of timing of female receptivity in 9 groups at Kirindy Forest revealed that dominant males spent more time in proximity to females when they were receptive and were responsible for the maintenance of this proximity. Results also indicated that monopolization of receptive females was facilitated by both estrous asynchrony within groups and by the ability of dominant males to obtain olfactory cues as to the timing of female receptivity. Although dominant males engaging in mate-guarding are expected to experience various costs, there was no evidence for decreased foraging behavior and only a trend toward increased aggression between dominant and subordinate nonnatal males within groups. Our results are in accordance with the hypothesis that dominant males use mate-guarding to monopolize receptive females and that it is one proximate mechanism that contributes to the high reproductive skew observed within the population of male sifakas at Kirindy.

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Meadow voles and prairie voles differ in the percentage of conspecific marks they over-mark

Cited by 34 publications

References 38 publications

Female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, do not alter their over-marking in response to female conspecifics that were food deprived

Female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, do not alter their over-marking in response to female conspecifics that were food deprived

Perspectives on over-marking: is it good to be on top?

Mate-Guarding as a Male Reproductive Tactic in Propithecus verreauxi

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