Use of odor baits in traps to test reactions to intra- and interspecific chemical cues in house mice living in outdoor enclosures

Abstract

House mice (Mus musculus) living in outdoor enclosures were tested for urinary chemical cue preferences using odor-baited traps. In the first experiment, with only volatile cues available, odors from conspecific males and females of various age classes and reproductive conditions were tested; no preferences were exhibited. In the second experiment mice had both nonvolatile and volatile cues available from the same sources as in experiment I. All age and sex class and female reproductive condition groups exhibited odor cue preferences except juvenile females. There were no specific odor cue preferences exhibited by any of the responder types with regard to odors from juvenile females. In the third and fifth experiments, mice were presented with nonvolatile plus volatile or only volatile urine odor cues, respectively, from four genera,Mus, Peromyscus, Microtus, andHomo. Mice of all age classes and both sexes preferredMus musculus odor, were neutral towardMicrotus ochrogaster odor, and avoided odors fromPeromyscus leucopus andHomo sapiens; these patterns were the same regardless of whether only volatile or both volatile and nonvolatile cues were presented. The fourth and sixth experiments involved testing volatile cues only and volatile cues plus nonvolatile cues from human sweat or feces from dogs, cats, or shrews. Mice avoided the human sweat and feces from cats and shrews, but were neutral toward the odor of dog feces. There were effects on whether mice were trapped in the interior of the enclosure or on the perimeter for some odors tested in these six experiments. The findings provide insights regarding possible functions of odor cues in the behavioral ecology of house mice. Odor-baiting traps can be an effective tool with respect to testing some, but not all questions pertaining to olfactory cues and house mouse social biology.

Do olfactory cues mediate interactions between rodents on northern shortgrass prairie?

“…The discriminatory abilities of deer mice may be such that mice could assess the age of the odors we provided, and therefore concluded that the grasshopper mouse odors were old and represented no threat. Our methods, however, were similar to those used in other studies that have demonstrated that rodents discriminate among and respond to odors in live traps (e.g., Daly et al 1980;Dickman and Doncaster 1984;Stoddart and Smith 1986;Drickamer et al 1992). Furthermore, results from an unpublished pilot study indicated that deer mice responded to the volatile cues we provided in traps.…”

“…: Sinclair et al 1990). Avoidance of predator odors is well documented in these latter groups (Sullivan et al 1988a;Merkens et al 199 1 ;Dickman 1992;Drickamer et al 1992; and references therein; but see Boonstra et al 1982).…”

“…To obtain odors for traps, we collected soiled raw cotton and feces from traps in which grasshopper mice and harvest mice had been captured off-site. These materials were immediately placed in separate plastic storage bags and stored in a freezer (Drickamer et al 1992). Clean cotton was placed in traps assigned to contain no rodent odors.…”

“…Numerous studies have documented the importance of olfactory cues in mediating social and interspecific interactions of small mammals (Drickamer et al 1992 and references therein). Many rodents use odor cues to detect and avoid both potential competitors (Daly et al 1980;Drickamer et al 1992) and mammalian predators (Madzer et al 1976;Dickrnan 1992;Drickamer et al 1992;Jedrzejewski et al 1993;Nolte et al 1994;Zimmerling and Sullivan 1994;and references therein).…”

“…Many rodents use odor cues to detect and avoid both potential competitors (Daly et al 1980;Drickamer et al 1992) and mammalian predators (Madzer et al 1976;Dickrnan 1992;Drickamer et al 1992;Jedrzejewski et al 1993;Nolte et al 1994;Zimmerling and Sullivan 1994;and references therein). Such cues may be particularly useful for prey species because they allow individuals to recognize and evade predators without visual or direct contact, and because they may remain in an area for an extended period of time and provide information on the temporal status of a predator's activity.…”