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Clark KE, Messler KA, Ferkin MH. Sex differences in olfactory social recognition memory in meadow voles,
Microtus pennsylvanicus. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey E. Clark
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Memphis Memphis TN USA
| | - Kaitlynn A. Messler
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Memphis Memphis TN USA
- Department of Health Professions University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis TN USA
| | - Michael H. Ferkin
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Memphis Memphis TN USA
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2
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Scent marks of rodents can provide information to conspecifics. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:445-452. [PMID: 30778801 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01250-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Revised: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
For a scent mark to be informative it must provide a reliable, honest signal that allows individuals that detect it to predict fitness tradeoffs if they choose or not choose to respond to it. I argue that scent marks provide a great deal of information about the sender to receivers. The manner in which an animal uses this information to make decisions will depend on the context and manner in which it encounters these scent marks. Receivers can use the information found in the scent marks and odors to locate the donor, learn its identity, determine the donor's phenotype or genotype, and assess whether the scent marks were encountered earlier by conspecifics. For receivers to make potentially informed decisions, when they encounter the scent marks of conspecifics with whom they have had different experiences across a variety of contexts higher level cognitive processing involving procedural memory, episodic memory, autobiographical memory and making judgements of numerical discrimination would be required. Senders should have some insight into the receivers to increase the likelihood that the targets respond appropriately to the scent mark by reducing uncertainty. The sender's state or the current state of the environment and the context will affect when and where the scent marks were deposited. Decisions to deposit scent marks and respond to them must represent a tradeoff in the benefits and costs to the sender and receivers in terms of their fitness and survival. The actual tradeoff should be context dependent and reflect the experience, physiology, and life history constraints affecting the receiver. Calculating these tradeoffs likely involves some cognitive processing and requires some sort of information transfer between the sender and the receiver.
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Cheng L, Motani R, Jiang DY, Yan CB, Tintori A, Rieppel O. Early Triassic marine reptile representing the oldest record of unusually small eyes in reptiles indicating non-visual prey detection. Sci Rep 2019; 9:152. [PMID: 30679783 PMCID: PMC6345829 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-37754-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) led to reorganization of marine predatory communities, through introduction of air-breathing top predators, such as marine reptiles. We report two new specimens of one such marine reptile, Eretmorhipis carrolldongi, from the Lower Triassic of Hubei, China, revealing superficial convergence with the modern duckbilled platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), a monotreme mammal. Apparent similarities include exceptionally small eyes relative to the body, snout ending with crura with a large internasal space, housing a bone reminiscent of os paradoxum, a mysterious bone of platypus, and external grooves along the crura. The specimens also have a rigid body with triangular bony blades protruding from the back. The small eyes likely played reduced roles during foraging in this animal, as with extant amniotes (group containing mammals and reptiles) with similarly small eyes. Mechanoreceptors on the bill of the animal were probably used for prey detection instead. The specimens represent the oldest record of amniotes with extremely reduced visual capacity, utilizing non-visual cues for prey detection. The discovery reveals that the ecological diversity of marine predators was already high in the late Early Triassic, and challenges the traditional view that the ecological diversification of marine reptiles was delayed following the EPME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Cheng
- Wuhan Centre of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, Hubei, 430023, P. R. China.
| | - Ryosuke Motani
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
| | - Da-Yong Jiang
- Laboratory of Orogenic Belt and Crustal Evolution, MOE, Department of Geology and Geological Museum, Peking University, Yiheyuan Str. 5, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
| | - Chun-Bo Yan
- Wuhan Centre of China Geological Survey, Wuhan, Hubei, 430023, P. R. China
| | - Andrea Tintori
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli, 34-20133, Milano, Italy
| | - Olivier Rieppel
- Center of Integrative Research, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL, 60605-2496, USA
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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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Ferkin MH. The response of rodents to scent marks: four broad hypotheses. Horm Behav 2015; 68:43-52. [PMID: 25637402 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Revised: 10/23/2014] [Accepted: 10/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Chemosignals and Reproduction". Many terrestrial mammals must be able to distinguish between the myriad of scent marks they encounter in order for them to facilitate or deter direct interactions with their scent donors. I review studies that examine how rodents, mainly meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus), respond when they encounter the scent marks of conspecifics and heterospecifics, and how context, as well as the age and condition of senders and receivers, affect their responses. The review uses four broad hypotheses to discuss the response of rodents to scent marks. The four hypotheses are as follows: 1) Scent marks convey accurate information to the receiver about the sender's state and phenotype and genotype. 2) Scent marks are individually distinct. 3) The response of receivers to scent marks is flexible and would be modulated by the cognitive abilities of receivers. 4) Receivers respond to the information contained or conveyed by the scent mark in a manner that will increase their survival and fitness. The studies cited in this review show that scent marks signal accurate information about the sender's phenotype, genotype, and condition, which receivers use to distinguish among the scent marks of different conspecifics and heterospecifics, and by doing so, receivers tailor their response accordingly to increase their survival and fitness. Thus, the four broad hypotheses may serve as guide to increase our understanding of the response of receivers to scent marks and provide a conceptual framework for future research and the development of additional hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael H Ferkin
- The University of Memphis, Department of Biological Sciences, Ellington Hall, 3700 Walker Ave, Memphis, TN 38152, USA.
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Sabau RM, Ferkin MH. Maternal Food Restriction During Lactation Affects Body Weightand Sexual Behavior of Male Offspring in Meadow Voles ( Microtus pennsylvanicus). Ethology 2014; 120:793-803. [PMID: 27087714 DOI: 10.1111/eth.12252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about the occurrence of individual variation in sexual behavior and how maternal nutrition can affect this variation. We tested the hypothesis that male offspring of female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, that were 30% food restricted (FR) during days 1-7 of lactation (FR 1-7), days 8-14 of lactation (FR 8-14), or late days 15-21 of lactation (FR 15-21) lactation show persistent, negative effects on their sexual behavior as adults relative to male offspring of females that were not food restricted. We measured three components of sexual behavior, attractivity, proceptivity and receptivity, beginning when the males were 98 days of age. Food restriction during middle lactation (FR 8-14) but not during early (FR 1-7) and late lactation (FR 15-21) was sufficient to induce adult male voles to produce anogenital marks that were not as attractive as those produced by control males. Food restriction during lactation did not affect the proceptive behavior of male voles but did affect their receptivity. Only 4 of 12 FR 8-14 male voles mated compared to 9 of 12 FR 1-7 males, 8 of 12 FR 15-21 males, and 8 of 11 control males. However, no differences existed in their copulatory behavior among the males that did mate. The body weight of FR 1-7 and FR 8-14 males was lower than that of FR 15-21 and control males when they were between 22 days of age (weaning) and 48 days of age (puberty) but was similar when the males were 98 days of age. Food intake was similar for the FR and control males between day 22 and day 98. It remains unclear, however, if this type of maternal effect represents strategic programming of offspring behavior in response to the environment experienced by mothers or is a product of developmental processes of food restriction prior to weaning (Forstmeier et al. 2004).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramona M Sabau
- The University of Memphis, Department of Biological Sciences, Ellington Hall, Memphis, TN 38152 USA
| | - Michael H Ferkin
- The University of Memphis, Department of Biological Sciences, Ellington Hall, Memphis, TN 38152 USA
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Ferkin MH, delBarco-Trillo J. The behavior of female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, during postpartum estrus and the responses of males to them. Mamm Biol 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mambio.2013.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Ferkin MH, Hobbs NJ. Female meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, respond differently to the scent marks of multiple male conspecifics. Anim Cogn 2013; 17:715-22. [PMID: 24197276 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-013-0703-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2013] [Revised: 10/23/2013] [Accepted: 10/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Many nonhuman animals are capable of discriminating a group or entity containing more objects from one containing less of the same objects. The capacity for making judgments of numerousness may also allow individuals to discriminate between potential mates. Female meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) may use judgments of relative numerousness to distinguish between potential suitors by selecting males that signal their interest by depositing more scent marks relative to other males. We used a familiarization-discrimination paradigm in the absence of training to test the hypothesis that female voles will discriminate between the different numerosities of scent marks of two male conspecifics that are similar in features of their phenotype and quality. During the exposure phase, we presented female voles with different ratios of feces scent marks from two males. During the test phase, we presented females with a single, fresh fecal scent mark from each of the two male donors, whose marks they had previously encountered during the exposure phase. In both phases, females spent more time investigating the scent mark(s) of the male that deposited more scent marks than that of the male that deposited fewer scent marks provided the difference in the ratio of scent marks provided by the male donors in the exposure phase was ≥2. Our results are consistent with studies on a variety of taxa, suggesting that numerosity discriminations are evolutionarily ancient and spontaneously available to nonhuman animals and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael H Ferkin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA,
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Zheng DJ, Foley L, Rehman A, Ophir AG. Social recognition is context dependent in single male prairie voles. Anim Behav 2013; 86:10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.09.015. [PMID: 24273328 PMCID: PMC3834614 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Single males might benefit from knowing the identity of neighbouring males when establishing and defending boundaries. Similarly, males should discriminate between individual females if this leads to more reproductive opportunities. Contextual social cues may alter the value of learning identity. Knowing the identity of competitors that intrude into an animal's territory may be more salient than knowing the identity of individuals on whose territory an animal is trespassing. Hence, social and environmental context could affect social recognition in many ways. Here we test social recognition of socially monogamous single male prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster. In experiment 1 we tested recognition of male or female conspecifics and found that males discriminated between different males but not between different females. In experiment 2 we asked whether recognition of males is influenced when males are tested in their own cage (familiar), in a clean cage (neutral) or in the home cage of another male (unfamiliar). Although focal males discriminated between male conspecifics in all three contexts, individual variation in recognition was lower when males were tested in their home cage (in the presence of familiar social cues) compared to when the context lacked social cues (neutral). Experiment 1 indicates that selective pressures may have operated to enhance male territorial behaviour and indiscriminate mate selection. Experiment 2 suggests that the presence of a conspecific cue heightens social recognition and that home-field advantages might extend to social cognition. Taken together, our results indicate social recognition depends on the social and possibly territorial context.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lauren Foley
- Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, U.S.A
| | - Asad Rehman
- Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, U.S.A
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