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Ferkin MH. Odor Communication and Mate Choice in Rodents. BIOLOGY 2018; 7:E13. [PMID: 29370074 PMCID: PMC5872039 DOI: 10.3390/biology7010013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Revised: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
This paper details how chemical communication is affected by ecological challenges such as finding mates. I list several conditions that affect the decision to attract mates, the decision to respond to the signals of potential mates and how the response depends on context. These mate-choice decisions and their outcomes will depend on the life history constraints placed on individuals such as their fecundity, sex, lifespan, opportunities to mate in the future and age at senescence. Consequently, the sender's decision to scent mark or self-groom as well as the receiver's choice of response represents a tradeoff between the current costs of the participant's own survival and future reproduction against that of reproducing now. The decision to scent nark and the response to the scent mark of opposite-sex conspecifics should maximize the fitness of the participants in that context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael H Ferkin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38017, USA.
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Pan Y, Liu Y, Lieberwirth C, Zhang Z, Wang Z. Species differences in behavior and cell proliferation/survival in the adult brains of female meadow and prairie voles. Neuroscience 2015; 315:259-70. [PMID: 26708743 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2015] [Revised: 12/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/14/2015] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Microtine rodents display diverse patterns of social organization and behaviors, and thus provide a useful model for studying the effects of the social environment on physiology and behavior. The current study compared the species differences and the effects of oxytocin (OT) on anxiety-like, social affiliation, and social recognition behaviors in female meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). Furthermore, cell proliferation and survival in the brains of adult female meadow and prairie voles were compared. We found that female meadow voles displayed a higher level of anxiety-like behavior but lower levels of social affiliation and social recognition compared to female prairie voles. In addition, meadow voles showed lower levels of cell proliferation (measured by Ki67 staining) and cell survival (measured by BrdU staining) in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) and amygdala (AMY), but not the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus (DG), than prairie voles. Interestingly, the numbers of new cells in the VMH and AMY, but not DG, also correlated with anxiety-like, social affiliation, and social recognition behaviors in a brain region-specific manner. Finally, central OT treatment (200 ng/kg, icv) did not lead to changes in behavior or cell proliferation/survival in the brain. Together, these data indicate a potential role of cell proliferation/survival in selected brain areas on different behaviors between vole species with distinct life strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Pan
- Program in Molecular and Translational Medicine, School of Medicine, Huzhou University, Huzhou 313000, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, PR China; Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1270, USA
| | - Y Liu
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1270, USA
| | - C Lieberwirth
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1270, USA; Behavioral Science Department, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, 84058, USA
| | - Z Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, PR China
| | - Z Wang
- Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-1270, USA.
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Ferkin MH. Odor-related behavior and cognition in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus (Arvicolidae, Rodentia). FOLIA ZOOLOGICA 2011. [DOI: 10.25225/fozo.v60.i3.a11.2011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael H. Ferkin
- The University of Memphis, Department of Biological Sciences, Ellington Hall, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
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