The Presence Of Strange Males’ Odor Induces Behavioral Responses And Elevated Levels Of Low Molecular Weight Proteins Excreted In The Urine Of Mature Water Vole Males (Arvicola amphibius L)

Abstract

We hypothesized that low molecular weight urinary proteins play a role in male-male chemical communication in the water vole, Arvicola ampibius L. We studied the effect of placing soiled litter from strange males into the cage of another sexually mature male on the intensity of its digging and scattering, urination on the litter, and alteration in the levels of low molecular weight proteins (15-25 kDa) excreted in the urine before and after 4 days of exposure as determined by chip electrophoresis. The intensity of digging and scattering was positively correlated with levels of testosterone in serum of males exposed to strange male odors (r = 0.56; P < 0.01), as well as with the concentration of low molecular weight proteins in the donor's urine (r = 0.52, P < 0.05). At the end of the experiment, the level of low molecular weight protein in excreted urine was elevated in the males exposed to the strange male's litter. These results highlight the importance of quantitative inter-individual variation of low molecular weight urinary proteins in the modulation of the physiology and behavior of conspecifics.

Do Fossorial Water Voles have a Functional Vomeronasal Organ? A Histological and Immunohistochemical Study

“…Recognizing danger through chemical signals is of utmost importance for species survival (Lima and Bednekoff 1999). An avoidance response of water voles to the odors of the American mink, Neovison vison , has been observed in the wild (Brzeziński et al 2019) and in outdoor enclosures (Barreto and Macdonald 1999; Nazarova et al 2016). Since the fossorial water vole is primarily a subterranean species, chemical senses play a dominant role compared to physical senses like hearing and vision (Dennis et al 2020).…”