The nature and frequency of social interactions among free-living prairie voles ( Microtus ochrogaster )

1998 ◽  
Vol 43 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 271-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty McGuire ◽  
Lowell L. Getz
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Free Living

Social organization in free-living prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster

1986 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lowell L. Getz ◽  
Joyce E. Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Free Living

Sexual and social interactions preceding and during male-induced oestrus in prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1465-1471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane M. Witt ◽  
C. Sue Carter ◽  
Kathy Carlstead ◽  
Linnea D. Read
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Prairie Voles

scholarly journals Social dynamics and dispersal in free-living prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty McGuire ◽  
Lowell L. Getz ◽  
William E. Bemis ◽  
Madan K. Oli
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Free Living

Effects of exposures to siblings or sibling odors on sibling recognition in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Paz y Miño C. ◽  
Zuleyma Tang-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Memory ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Microtine Rodents ◽  
Basic Parameters ◽  
Sibling Recognition ◽  
Isolation Period

Determining the mechanisms of sibling recognition is important for understanding social behavior and the basic parameters of population dynamics (cycles) in microtine rodents. Previous studies have shown that, after relatively short periods of isolation, prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) no longer recognize their siblings. In this study we tested the hypothesis that brief encounters of prairie voles with siblings or sibling odors during a period of isolation can maintain social memory and the ability of animals to recognize their siblings over time. Six-week-old voles of both sexes that were isolated for 21 days and exposed (on days 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 of this 21-day isolation period) to brief encounters (30 min for each encounter) with their siblings continued to recognize their siblings when tested for social interactions at 42 days of age. Only females exposed to odors of same-sex siblings during the period of isolation continued to recognize their sisters. Males exposed to odors of same-sex siblings did not recognize their brothers when tested for social interactions at 42 days of age. These results demonstrate that after dispersal prairie voles need occasional encounters with their siblings, or their siblings' odors (at least in females), to reinforce social memory and the ability to recognize kin over prolonged periods of time. This study is the first to provide empirical evidence that helps us understand the mechanism by which sibling prairie voles, which are philopatric or often settle in home ranges close to one another, almost never form breeding pairs.

scholarly journals Social context alters spatial memory performance in free-living male prairie voles

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 190743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marissa A. Rice ◽  
Gloria Sanín ◽  
Alexander G. Ophir
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Intraspecific Competition ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Contest Competition ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Male And Female

Spatial memory is crucial for mating success because it enables males to locate potential mates and potential competitors in space. Intraspecific competition and its varying intensity under certain conditions are potentially important for shaping spatial memory. For example, spatial memory could enable males to know where competitors are (contest competition), it could help males find mating partners (scramble competition) or both. We manipulated the intensity of intraspecific competition in two distinct contexts by altering the operational sex ratio of prairie voles ( Microtus ochrogaster ) living in outdoor enclosures by creating male- and female-biased sex ratios. After living freely under these contexts for four weeks, we compared males' performance in a laboratory spatial memory test. Males in the male-biased context demonstrated better spatial memory performance than males in the female-biased context. Notably, these data show that in spite of experiencing equally complex spatial contexts (i.e. natural outdoor enclosures), it was the social context that influenced spatial cognition, and it did so in a manner consistent with the hypothesis that spatial memory is particularly relevant for male–male interactions.

Social interactions, cross-fostering, and sibling recognition in prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (10) ◽  
pp. 1631-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Paz y Miño C. ◽  
Zuleyma Tang-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Incest Avoidance ◽  
Sibling Recognition ◽  
Cross Fostering ◽  
As If

Sibling recognition in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) has been traditionally inferred from incest avoidance or lack of reproduction among littermates. Researchers have concluded that when sibling prairie voles are isolated from one another there is a breakdown of incest avoidance (and therefore of sibling recognition). In a reevaluation of these studies, using social interactions rather than incest avoidance, we found that the breakdown of incest avoidance was not equivalent to a breakdown of sibling recognition. We explored the effects of cross-fostering on sibling recognition by looking at changes in amicable or agonistic behaviors that were then used to infer sibling recognition. Prairie voles that were cross-fostered with nonsiblings were not able to recognize their own siblings when reunited and tested for social interactions in adulthood. Siblings reared apart treated their own siblings as if they were not closely related and nonsiblings reared together treated nonsiblings as if they were their own siblings. The mechanism of sibling recognition in prairie voles is association or familiarity. The ability to recognize siblings may be limited to individuals that are raised together. Sibling recognition in prairie voles may be a by-product of familiarity in early life and not a mechanism restricted to genetic relatedness as predicted by kin-selection theory.

scholarly journals Chronic Intranasal Oxytocin has Dose-dependent Effects on Central Oxytocin and Vasopressin Systems in Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

Neuroscience ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 369 ◽  
pp. 292-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.D. Guoynes ◽  
T.C. Simmons ◽  
G.M. Downing ◽  
S. Jacob ◽  
M. Solomon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Dose Dependent
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