Self-grooming and sibling recognition in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, and prairie voles,M.ochrogaster

C, Guillermo Paz-Y-Miño; Leonard, Stuart T.; Ferkin, Michael H.; Trimble, J

doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1893

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…One of the functions of self‐grooming may be to advertise an individual's identity or sexual attractiveness as suggested by Ferkin et al. (1996; 2001; Paz‐Y‐Miño C et al., in press) but in this study grooming rates alone were not good predictors of mate choice or mating success. Once a male has been chosen as a prospective mate, he might no longer need to self‐advertise and thus self‐grooming decreases considerably.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Is Self‐Grooming by Male Prairie Voles a Predictor of Mate Choice?

2002

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Self‐grooming by mammals is a form of scent dissemination in which individuals anoint themselves with salivary, anogenital, and other body odours. Self‐grooming has been proposed to be a sexually selected trait favoured in reproductive competition and sexual attraction. We tested the hypothesis that females would show a mating preference for males that self‐groomed more than a reproductive competitor that groomed less. In mate‐choice experiments in which females had a choice of two tethered males, non pair‐bonded females did not choose males based on their frequency of self‐grooming. In a second experiment in which pair‐bonded females in postpartum oestrus had access to their current mate and two strange males, strange males groomed significantly more than pair‐bonded mates, yet attained the fewest copulations. Non pair‐bonded females and pair‐bonded males and females groomed significantly less often than did non pair‐bonded males. Self‐grooming behaviour was consistent with the sexual attraction hypothesis, but the frequency of self‐grooming did not increase a male's mating success. We conclude that the frequency and time spent self grooming are not good predictors of mating success.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Is Self‐Grooming by Male Prairie Voles a Predictor of Mate Choice?

2002

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“…By spending more time self-grooming in response to LP opposite-sex conspecifics, LP groomers may produce an odor (s) that increases the likelihood that they can indicate their presence in an area to nearby conspecifics (Thiessen 1977;Ferkin et al 1996;Stopka and Macdonald 1998;Land and Seeley 2004). Such odors may allow males and females, which do nest together during the breeding season (Madison and McShea 1987), to locate one another more easily, to facilitate assessment of the groomer's odor by nearby opposite-sex conspecifics, and/or to coordinate breeding (Gosling 1990;Gosling and Roberts 2001;Witt et al 1988Witt et al , 1990Paz-y-Miño et al 2002). A similar inference could be drawn from studies that showed that male prairie voles (Ferkin et al 2001), ground squirrels (Steiner 1973(Steiner , 1974, rats (Wiepkema 1979), and hedgehogs (Brockie 1976) spend more time self-grooming when they encounter opposite-sex conspecifics as compared to same-sex conspecifics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This outcome has been supported by several studies on rodents. For instance, small mammals, such as squirrels and voles, self-groom more when they encounter opposite-sex conspecifics as compared to same-sex conspecifics, mates vs nonmates, and nonsiblings as compared to siblings (Steiner 1973(Steiner , 1974Witt et al 1988Witt et al , 1990Ferkin et al 1996Ferkin et al , 2001Paz-y-Miño et al 2002). Female meadow voles spend more time selfgrooming when they encounter the scents of males that have high titers of both prolactin and testosterone than they did when they encounter the scents of males that have low titers of both prolactin and testosterone .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Seasonal differences in self-grooming in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus

Leonard

Ferkin

2005

acta ethol

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We determined whether seasonal differences exist in the amount of time meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, self-groom when they encounter the scents of conspecifics. To do so, we used voles that were born and reared under long photoperiod (LP) and short photoperiod (SP). LP voles represent those found in free-living populations during the spring and summer breeding season, whereas SP voles characterize those found in free-living populations during the fall and winter nonbreeding season. Experiment 1 showed that LP male and female voles selfgroomed more in response to odors of LP opposite-sex conspecifics as compared to those of other LP and SP conspecifics, suggesting that they may be self-grooming to signal sexual interest or excitement to potential mates. Experiment 2 demonstrated that SP males self-groomed more in response to scents of LP female voles and those of SP males as compared to scents of LP males and SP females, whereas SP females spent similar amounts of time self-grooming in response to scents of LP males, LP females, SP females, and SP males. These seasonal differences in self-grooming may reflect differences in the messages produced by groomers when they broadcast their odors as well as differences in the meaning of such odors to opposite-sex conspecifics. Alternatively, these data may be associated with seasonal differences in sexual motivation of the groomers when exposed to scents of particular conspecifics.

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“…1996). Voles also spend more time self‐grooming when exposed to odors of unfamiliar, opposite‐sex conspecifics than to those of their opposite‐sex siblings (Paz‐y‐Miño et al. 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self‐Grooming Response of Meadow Voles to the Odor of Opposite‐Sex Conspecifics in Relation to the Dietary Protein Content of Both Sexes

2008

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Many animals self‐groom when they encounter the scent marks of opposite‐sex conspecifics. Self‐grooming transmits odiferous substances that contain information about the groomer’s condition, which is affected by its nutritional state. We tested the hypothesis that the amount of time that individuals self‐groom to opposite‐sex conspecifics is affected by the amount of protein in their diet and that of the scent donor. We did so by feeding meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) a diet containing 9%, 13%, or 22% dietary protein for 30 d and observing their self‐grooming behavior when they were exposed to bedding scented by an opposite‐sex conspecific (odor donor) fed one of the three diets, or fresh cotton bedding (control). The hypothesis was partially supported. We found that the protein content of the diet of male and female groomers did not affect the amount of time they self‐groomed. However, the protein content of the diet of male odor donors affected the amount of time that female voles spent self‐grooming. Female voles self‐groomed more in response to male odor donors fed a 22% protein‐content diet than to those produced by male odor donors fed either a 9% or a 13% protein‐content diet. Interestingly, the amount of time males self‐groomed was not affected by the protein content of the diet of the female odor donor. These results may, in part, be explained by the natural history of free‐living meadow voles, sex differences in costs associated with mate attraction and reproduction, and the direct or indirect benefits that females receive from males fed a diet high in protein content.

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Self-grooming and sibling recognition in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, and prairie voles,M.ochrogaster

Cited by 23 publications

References 49 publications

Is Self‐Grooming by Male Prairie Voles a Predictor of Mate Choice?

Is Self‐Grooming by Male Prairie Voles a Predictor of Mate Choice?

Seasonal differences in self-grooming in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus

Self‐Grooming Response of Meadow Voles to the Odor of Opposite‐Sex Conspecifics in Relation to the Dietary Protein Content of Both Sexes

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