Meadow voles differentiate between scents of different sources

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Sarah S. Garris ◽  
Lyndsey M. Pierson ◽  
Michael H. Ferkin
Keyword(s):  
Test Method ◽  
Metabolic Energy ◽  
Scent Mark ◽  
Scent Marks ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Important Means ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
Different Sources

Abstract Scent marks are an important means of transmitting information between rodents, and they can be produced from several body sources. Previous studies have shown that scents from multiple sources can convey the same information; female meadow voles, for example, have three scent sources that communicate sex. However, possessing three separate sources that convey the same information is likely costly due to the metabolic energy required to produce these signals and the increased chance that eavesdropping individuals may intercept information present in these signals. In this study, we investigated if these scent sources could communicate other information, in addition to scent donor sex, by determining if male meadow voles could distinguish scent marks taken from different sources of a single female scent donor. This was accomplished with a habituation-test method, that allowed us to compare how male meadow voles differently investigate scent from a familiar and novel source of a female scent donor. Male meadow voles could distinguish between faeces and urine scent marks of a female, but could only distinguish mouth from urine and faeces scent marks when first familiarized with mouth scent marks. Our findings suggest that mouth, urine, and faeces scent marks of female meadow voles produce both redundant and distinct information. The overlap in information between scent marks produced from separate sources may be needed to provide social context, which allows receiving individuals to accurately weigh the tradeoffs associated with responding to an olfactory cue. While this overlap in information remains costly, this cost may be minimized by the different fade-out times of scent marks from distinct body sources, which may limit the amount of time information in a scent mark is available to a time period where this information is socially relevant.

SCENT MARKING IN MEADOW VOLES AND PRAIRIE VOLES: A TEST OF THREE HYPOTHESES

Behaviour ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 138 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1319-1336 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.G. Mech ◽  
M.H. Ferkin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Avoidance Response ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Scent Mark ◽  
Scent Marks ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Marking Behaviour

AbstractMost terrestrial mammals deposit scent marks to communicate with conspecifics. We examined the scent marking behaviour of meadow voles and prairie voles, species with different mating systems and social organizations, to determine whether voles scent mark according to the 'targeting' response, the 'avoidance' response, or the 'shotgun' response. The targeting response occurs when the second scent donor deposits more of its scent marks in an area marked by the first scent donor than in an unscented area. The avoidance response occurs when the second scent donor deposits more of its scent marks in an unscented area than in an area marked by the first scent donor. The shotgun response occurs when the second scent donor deposits a similar number of its scent marks in an area containing scent marks of a conspecific and in an area containing no conspecific scent marks. We allowed voles simultaneous access to an arena containing two arms: one of the arms was scented by a conspecific and the other arm was unscented. We recorded the number of marks deposited by the voles in each arm and the amount of time they spent investigating marks deposited previously in the scented arm. Our data provide no support for the avoidance response, but provide support for the shotgun response and the target response. Species and sex differences in the scent marking behaviours of voles when they encounter the scent marks of conspecifics are discussed within the framework that scent marking responses depend on the voles' social organization and mating system, and that these responses may reflect the tactics males and females use to attract mates and compete with same-sex conspecifics.

scholarly journals Male and female meadow voles Microtus pennsylvanicus respond differently to scent marks from the top- middle-, and bottom-scent donors of an over-mark

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Ferkin ◽  
Nicholas J. Hobbs ◽  
Benjamin D. Ferkin ◽  
Adam C. Ferkin ◽  
Daniel A. Ferkin
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Receptive Female ◽  
Scent Mark ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Scent Marks ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals

Abstract Previous studies have shown that individuals responded preferentially to the mark of the top-scent donor relative to that of the bottom-scent donor of an over-mark. However, terrestrial mammals are likely to encounter over-marks consisting of the scent marks of more than two same-sex conspecifics in the intersections of runways, near the nests of sexually receptive female conspecifics, and inside and along the borders of the territories of conspecifics. We determined how meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, respond to the marks of the top-, middle-, and bottom-scent donors of an over-mark. We tested the hypothesis that voles exposed to an over-mark will respond preferentially to the scent marks that were deposited more recently, the scent marks that were on top or near the top of the over-mark, compared to the scent marks that were deposited earlier or near the bottom of the over-mark. Voles spent more time investigating the mark of the top-scent donor than that of the either the middle- or bottom-scent donor. However, males but not female voles spent more time investigating the middle-scent mark than the bottom-scent mark. We also tested the hypothesis that voles evaluate and respond to over-marks differently from single scent marks. Voles spent more time investigating the marks of the top-, middle-, and bottom-scent donors compared to scent marks that were not part of the over-mark. Voles can distinguish among the overlapping scent marks of three scent donors and sex differences exist in the values they appear to attach to each of these scent marks.

The presence and number of male competitor's scent marks and female reproductive state affect the response of male meadow voles to female conspecifics' odours

Behaviour ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 148 (8) ◽  
pp. 927-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlee A. Vaughn ◽  
Michael H. Ferkin
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Receptive Female ◽  
Sexual Receptivity ◽  
Scent Mark ◽  
Scent Marks ◽  
Reproductive State ◽  
Meadow Voles ◽  
The Third ◽  
State Affect

AbstractMale mammals are attracted to the scent marks of sexually receptive female conspecifics. Male voles spend more time investigating the scent marks of female voles in postpartum oestrus (PPE), a heightened state of sexual receptivity that occurs following the delivery of a litter, compared to those of female voles that are not in PPE, but in a moderate state of sexual receptivity. However, both types of females will attract male conspecifics to deposit their scent marks near those deposited by these females. The scent marks deposited by these males may indicate how many males have visited this female, which may affect how attractive she is to other males. In the present study, we exposed male meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, to the scent mark of a PPE female and a female that was not in PPE, a reference female (REF female); the scent marks of 0, 1 or 5 males were placed adjacent to the scent marks of these two female scent donors. In doing so, we tested three hypotheses. The first hypothesis is males will spend less time investigating the scent mark of a female that has more scent marks of male conspecifics adjacent to it compared to that of a female that has fewer scent marks of male conspecifics adjacent to it. The second hypothesis is the converse of the first hypothesis. The third hypothesis is males will spend more time investigating the scent mark of a PPE female than that of a REF female, independent of the number of scent marks of other males adjacent to them. Overall, our data suggests that a combination of factors may influence a male's preference for the scent marks of potential mates. Most tests suggest that males will respond preferentially to a female if she has more male suitors than another female, independent of the reproductive state of either female. If however, the number of male suitors is the same for each female, males tend to prefer the scent mark of the female that is in a more heightened state of sexual receptivity.

XML Data Integration

2010 ◽  
pp. 333-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Qi ◽  
Huiping Cao ◽  
K. Selçuk Candan ◽  
Maria Luisa Sapino
Keyword(s):  
Data Integration ◽  
Query Processing ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Xml Data ◽  
Data Schema ◽  
Integration Data ◽  
Feedback Techniques ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Xml Data Integration

In XML Data Integration, data/metadata merging and query processing are indispensable. Specifically, merging integrates multiple disparate (heterogeneous and autonomous) input data sources together for further usage, while query processing is one main reason why the data need to be integrated in the first place. Besides, when supported with appropriate user feedback techniques, queries can also provide contexts in which conflicts among the input sources can be interpreted and resolved. The flexibility of XML structure provides opportunities for alleviating some of the difficulties that other less flexible data types face in the presence of uncertainty; yet, this flexibility also introduces new challenges in merging multiple sources and query processing over integrated data. In this chapter, the authors discuss two alternative ways XML data/schema can be integrated: conflict-eliminating (where the result is cleaned from any conflicts that the different sources might have with each other) and conflict-preserving (where the resulting XML data or XML schema captures the alternative interpretations of the data). They also present techniques for query processing over integrated, possibly imprecise, XML data, and cover strategies that can be used for resolving underlying conflicts.

scholarly journals Human responses to multiple sources of directional information in virtual crowd evacuations

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (91) ◽  
pp. 20130904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolai W. F. Bode ◽  
Armel U. Kemloh Wagoum ◽  
Edward A. Codling
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Directional Information ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Exit Route ◽  
Static Information ◽  
Alternative Sources ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Crowd Movement ◽  
Interactive Virtual Environment ◽  
Different Sources

The evacuation of crowds from buildings or vehicles is one example that highlights the importance of understanding how individual-level interactions and decision-making combine and lead to the overall behaviour of crowds. In particular, to make evacuations safer, we need to understand how individuals make movement decisions in crowds. Here, we present an evacuation experiment with over 500 participants testing individual behaviour in an interactive virtual environment. Participants had to choose between different exit routes under the influence of three different types of directional information: static information (signs), dynamic information (movement of simulated crowd) and memorized information, as well as the combined effect of these different sources of directional information. In contrast to signs, crowd movement and memorized information did not have a significant effect on human exit route choice in isolation. However, when we combined the latter two treatments with additional directly conflicting sources of directional information, for example signs, they showed a clear effect by reducing the number of participants that followed the opposing directional information. This suggests that the signals participants observe more closely in isolation do not simply overrule alternative sources of directional information. Age and gender did not consistently explain differences in behaviour in our experiments.

scholarly journals The effect of neighbouring klipspringer on the scent–marking behaviour of a group of klipspringer in the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kruger ◽  
J. Du P. Bothma ◽  
J.M. Kruger
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Scent Marking ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Scent Mark ◽  
Scent Marks ◽  
Marking Behaviour ◽  
Strip Transect

Both the male and the female klipspringer scent-mark their ranges. A pair of pre-orbital glands below the eyes produces the scent. The secretion is a sticky, substance that is deposited on a suitable twig. Klipspringer scent marks were surveyed in a specific klipspringer range in the Kruger National Park with the use of a strip transect method. The results showed that klipspringer in the Kruger National Park scent-mark more frequently on the boundaries of their ranges and also more on those sides where there is another resident klipspringer group.

scholarly journals Scaling Data from Multiple Sources

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Ted Enamorado ◽  
Gabriel López-Moctezuma ◽  
Marc Ratkovic
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
The Other ◽  
Tea Party ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Latent Factors ◽  
Flexible Modeling ◽  
Speech Data ◽  
Ideological Dimension ◽  
Modeling Strategy ◽  
Different Sources

Abstract We introduce a method for scaling two datasets from different sources. The proposed method estimates a latent factor common to both datasets as well as an idiosyncratic factor unique to each. In addition, it offers a flexible modeling strategy that permits the scaled locations to be a function of covariates, and efficient implementation allows for inference through resampling. A simulation study shows that our proposed method improves over existing alternatives in capturing the variation common to both datasets, as well as the latent factors specific to each. We apply our proposed method to vote and speech data from the 112th U.S. Senate. We recover a shared subspace that aligns with a standard ideological dimension running from liberals to conservatives, while recovering the words most associated with each senator’s location. In addition, we estimate a word-specific subspace that ranges from national security to budget concerns, and a vote-specific subspace with Tea Party senators on one extreme and senior committee leaders on the other.

Combined Multisensor Displays

1980 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Josefowitz ◽  
R.A. North ◽  
Joel Trimble
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
High Performance Aircraft

Interest in multi-sensor combined displays has arisen from a variety of different sources. Because cockpit space is limited and mission profiles for high-performance aircraft continue to become more complex, multi-sensor combined displays provide the potential for both conserving cockpit space and reducing pilot workload demands by consolidating and integrating information from multiple sources onto one display. An experiment was conducted to compare multi-sensor display concepts against more conventional multi-display and multi-function displays. Results from the experiment were analyzed and recommendations are offered for further developmental work in this area.

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