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Age-Related Effects on Individual Discrimination Among Meadow Voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus

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Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 13

Abstract

There is a paucity of data about the effects of aging on an individual’s response to scent marks in terrestrial mammals. In a recent series of experiments on the arvicoline rodent, the meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus, age of the subject had different effects on three odor-related behaviors: self-grooming, scent marking, and over-marking, suggesting that age of the vole may also affects its ability to identify and discriminate among the scent marks of different conspecifics. We used a habituation/test paradigm to test the hypothesis that aging affects the ability of meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) to identify individual differences in the scent marks of two conspecifics. In experiments 1 and 2, 2–3-month-old, 5–7-month-old, and 10–12-month-old voles that were exposed four successive times to the scent mark of an opposite-sex conspecific or a same-sex conspecific habituated to the scent mark of these donors. Later, during the test phase, 2–3-, 5–7-, and 10–12-month-old voles spent more time investigating the scent mark of a novel donor than that of the familiar donor. Thus, 2–12-month-old voles behave as if the scent marks of the donors were individually distinct. In contrast, in both experiments 1 and 2, 15–18-month-old voles failed to habituate to the scent mark of the familiar donor. In addition, during the test phase, 15–18-month-old voles spent similar amounts of time investigating the scent mark of the novel donor and that of the familiar donor. In experiment 3, 15–18-month-old voles could distinguish between the scent mark of a male and that of a female donor, spending more time investigating the scent mark of the opposite-sex conspecific to that of the same-sex conspecific. Thus, 15–18-month-old voles can no longer distinguish between the scent marks of two same-sex conspecifics but can discriminate between the scent marks of a male and a female conspecific. The data suggest that age of the vole may influence its ability to identify and discriminate among the scent marks of different same-sex conspecifics. The consequences of such impairment in social recognition may result in a trade-off between survival and mating success for older voles.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Malle Carrasco, Dr. Bruce Schulte, and two anonymous reviewers for reading this manuscript and providing helpful suggestions. The research was supported by NIH grants HD 049525 and an ARRA supplement and NSF grant IOB 0444553 to MHF and funds from the Vice Provost of Research and the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Memphis. This manuscript is dedicated to Dr. Robert E. Johnston, a pioneer and leader in the field of chemical communication in mammals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA

    Michael H. Ferkin, Christian T. Vlautin & Lyndsey M. Pierson

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  1. Michael H. Ferkin
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  2. Christian T. Vlautin
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  3. Lyndsey M. Pierson
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Correspondence to Michael H. Ferkin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA

    Bruce A. Schulte

  2. Department of Chemistry, Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas, USA

    Thomas E. Goodwin

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

    Michael H. Ferkin

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Ferkin, M.H., Vlautin, C.T., Pierson, L.M. (2016). Age-Related Effects on Individual Discrimination Among Meadow Voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus . In: Schulte, B., Goodwin, T., Ferkin, M. (eds) Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22026-0_9

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