The effects of exposure to conspecific urine on urine-marking in male and female degus (Octodon degus)

Kleiman, Devra G.

doi:10.1016/s0091-6773(75)90708-7

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…5(c), (d) and (e)]. From the second week of age, urine marking occurred in the depressed-rump posture characteristic of Octodon (Kleiman, 1975); sandbathing also occurred from this age (see Wilson andKleiman, 1974,andEisenberg, 1967 for description of sandbathing behavior). Towards the end of the second week of age, young sometimes made forepaw contact with a companion's back or rump while nosing the neck or rump, respectively [ The number of nosing contacts to the snout, neck, and rump regions were counted on each day of observation for all 5 litters.…”

Section: Observations Of Litters Removed From Their Parents and Home mentioning

confidence: 97%

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Contact‐promoting behavior, social development, and relationship with parents in sibling juvenile degus (Octodon Degus)

Wilson

1982

Developmental Psychobiology

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This study describes infant socialization in captive parent-young units of the caviomorph rodent Octodon degus. Types of parent-young contact (huddling or squatting) and social interaction (body nosing and accompanying behaviors) are described and their ontogenetic trends examined between postnatal Days 1 and 46. Fathers spent less time than mothers in contact with the young. Motheryoung contact decreased postnatally, whereas the amounts of mother-young and father-young social interaction, measured in terms of body-nosing exchanges, showed a continuous increase postnatally; sibling interactions also showed a continuous increase. Father-young interactions tended to be dominated by the father. Young reared with the father cohabiting huddled less with their mother, and engaged in less body-nosing, than young reared in the father's absence. Observations suggested that paternal control of the young may curb juvenile interactions. Young observed without their parents in an unfamiliar enclosure did not groom or "play" as in their home cage with parents present, but engaged in relatively more vocalizing, neck-nosing and forepaw-clasping.

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Section: Observations Of Litters Removed From Their Parents and Home mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The litters raised in the 2 conditions also had different mean sex ratios. However, this difference is unlikely to have contributed to the higher scores in the father-absent litters, since there were proportionately fewer males in this group, and males are thought to be the more socially active sex in Octodon degus (Kleiman, 1974(Kleiman, ,1975.…”

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confidence: 89%

Contact‐promoting behavior, social development, and relationship with parents in sibling juvenile degus (Octodon Degus)

Wilson

1982

Developmental Psychobiology

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“…In the field, social behavior is extensive; male and female degus engage in collaborative grooming, alternate sentinel duties during group feeding episodes, produce alarm calls in response to potential predators, and jointly maintain territorial boundaries; and females share nests during lactation with burrow mates (Fulk 1976;Vasquez 1997Vasquez , 1998. Kleiman (1975) demonstrated that female degus are readily able to distinguish individuals by odor, whereas the males' abilities to distinguish others by odors were somewhat less impressive (Fischer and Meunier 1985;Fischer et al 1986). These data led us to hypothesize that social interactions that influence circadian function, if they acted through an olfactory mechanism, would likely be sexually dimorphic in their effectiveness in degus.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Octodon degus: A Diurnal, Social, and Long-lived Rodent

Lee¹

2004

ILAR Journal

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Octodon degus is a moderate-sized, precocious, but slowly maturing, hystricomorph rodent from central Chile. We have used this species to study a variety of questions about circadian rhythms in a diurnal mammal that readily adapts to most laboratory settings. In collaboration with others, we have found that a number of fundamental features of circadian function differ in this diurnal rodent compared with nocturnal rodents, specifically rats or hamsters. We have also discovered that many aspects of the circadian system are sexually dimorphic in this species. However, the sexual dimorphisms develop in the presence of pubertal hormones, and the sex differences do not appear until after gonadal puberty is complete. The developmental timing of the sex differences is much later than in the previously studied altricial, rapidly developing rat, mouse, or hamster. This developmental timing of circadian function is reminiscent of that reported for adolescent humans. In addition, we have developed a model that demonstrates how nonphotic stimuli, specifically conspecific odors, can interact with the circadian system to hasten recovery from a phase-shift of the light:dark cycle (jet lag). Interestingly, the production of the odor-based social signal and sensitivity to it are modulated by adult gonadal hormones. Data from degu circadian studies have led us to conclude that treatment of some circadian disorders in humans will likely need to be both age and gender specific. Degus will continue to be valuable research animals for resolving other questions regarding reproduction, diabetes, and cataract development.

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“…Degus are socially organized around an extended family and share communal subterranean burrows with sympatric chinchilla rats, Abrocoma bennetti (Fulk, 1976;Kleiman, 1974). They are seasonal breeders in the wild, but captive degus reproduce all the year round, giving birth to an average of 5 young (range 1-10) after a 90 day gestation.…”

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confidence: 99%

Early postnatal physical and behavioural development of degus (Octodon degus)

Reynolds

Wright

1979

Lab Anim

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6 litters of Octodon degus were studied from birth to 10 days of age. Newly-born degus (mean weight 14.6 g) had open eyes, upper and lower pigment, fur, and teeth. Within 3-4 hours of birth they were able to walk supporting their full weight, right themselves rapidly, sit upright on their haunches, or rear upright with support, and vocalize. By the 1st or 2nd day, the young animals displayed functional grooming (face washing, hind-paw scratching, rapid head-shake). Solid food was ingested from day 6, although newborns chewed wood chips and 3-day olds gnawed dried faeces. Young degus were tested daily in an open field apparatus and showed increased activity and exploration, with repeated testing while decreasing distress vocalization after the 4th or 5th day. Degus are proposed for the study of developmental topics since their degree of development at birth allows for immediate testing. The degus studied here seem to be more fully developed at birth than those studied in Britain.

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The effects of exposure to conspecific urine on urine-marking in male and female degus (Octodon degus)

Cited by 20 publications

References 14 publications

Contact‐promoting behavior, social development, and relationship with parents in sibling juvenile degus (Octodon Degus)

Contact‐promoting behavior, social development, and relationship with parents in sibling juvenile degus (Octodon Degus)

Octodon degus: A Diurnal, Social, and Long-lived Rodent

Early postnatal physical and behavioural development of degus (Octodon degus)

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