Article: On Social Signals in Rodents
- From: "Robert Karl Stonjek" <rstonjek@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 17:53:45 -0400 (EDT)
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR: ON SOCIAL SIGNALS IN RODENTS
The following points are made by Leslie B. Vosshall (Current Biology 2005
15:R255):
1) Animals use odors to communicate precise information about themselves to
other members of their species. For instance, domesticated dogs intently
sample scent marks left by other dogs, allowing them to determine the age,
gender, sexual receptivity, and exact identity of the animal that left the
mark behind.[1,2] Social communication in rodents is equally robust.[3-5]
Male hamsters efficiently choose new female sexual partners over old ones, a
phenomenon known as the "Coolidge Effect". The onset of estrus and
successful fetal implantation in female mice are both modulated by male
odors. Mice have the ability to discriminate conspecifics that differ in MHC
odortype and can determine whether others of their species are infected by
viruses or parasites, presumably a skill of use in selecting a healthy mate.
2) Such social odors are typically produced in urine or secreted from scent
glands distributed over the body. Both volatile and non-volatile cues are
known to be produced. The accessory olfactory system, comprising the
vomeronasal organ and the accessory olfactory bulb, responds largely to
non-volatile cues, while the main olfactory system receives volatile
signals. Although mammalian pheromones are classically thought to activate
the accessory olfactory system, several newly described pheromones are
volatile and may act through the main olfactory system. Chemical signals
have a number of advantages in social communication over signals that act on
other sensory modalities: they are energetically cheap to produce, often
being metabolic by-products; they are volatile and can therefore be
broadcast within a large territory; and they can continue to emit signal
after the animal has moved to a new location.
Full text at ScienceWeek
http://scienceweek.com/2005/sw050527-2.htm
Posted By
Robert Karl Stonjek
.
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