Abstract
Current models suggest that among short-lived mammals, such as rodents, older adults are less attractive to the opposite sex and spend less time associated with the opposite sex than do younger adults. The objective of this study was to test two hypotheses in three different age groups of meadow voles. The first hypothesis is that 3- to 5 month old voles produce scents that are more attractive to opposite sex conspecifics than those of 7- to 12 month old and 14- to 18 month old voles. The second hypothesis is that 3- to 5 month old voles spend more time than either 7- to 12 month old or 14- to 18 month old voles investigating the scents of an opposite sex conspecific. The first experiment shows that when choosing between two conspecifics, females prefer the odor of the older male within each pair and that males prefer the odor of the 7- to 12 month old females to those of either 3- to 5 month old or 14- to 18 month old females. Thus, the data did not support the first hypothesis. The second experiment shows that the 14- to 18 month old males spent more time investigating female odors than did either the 3- to 5 month old or 7- to 12 month old males and that 7- to 12 month old females spent more time investigating male odors than did the 3- to 5 month old and 12- to 18 month old females. These data did not support the second hypothesis. Overall, older adult male meadow voles are more interested in and attractive to females than are younger adult males. The present data raise questions as to whether current models predict the age-related effects on the behavior of short-lived mammals.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Blaustein, A. R. 1981. Sexual selection and mammalian olfaction. Am. Nat. 117:1006–1010.
Boonstra, R. 1994. Population cycles in microtines: The senescence hypothesis. Evol. Ecol. 8:196–219.
Brown, E. B. 1973. Changes in seasonal growth in Microtus pennsylvanicus. Ecology 54:1103–1110.
Brown, R. E. 1985a. The rodents I: Effects of odours on reproductive physiology (primer effects), pp. 245–344, in R. E. Brown (ed.). Social Odours in Mammals, Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Brown, R. E. 1985b. The rodents II: suborder myomorpha, pp. 345–457, in R. E. Brown (ed.). Social Odours in Mammals, Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Carr, W. J., Wylie, N. R., and Loeb, L. S. 1970. Responses of adult and immature rats to sex odors. J. Comp. Physiol. Psych. 72:51–59.
Christian, J. J. 1980. Regulation of annual rhythms of reproduction in temperate small rodents, pp. 367–380, in A. Steinberger and E. Steinberger (eds.). Testicular Development, Structure, and Function. Raven Press, New York.
Clutton-Brock, T. H. (ed.). 1988. Reproductive Success. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Corwin, J., Loury, M., and Gilbert, A. N. 1995. Workplace, age, and sex as mediators of olfactory function: Data from a National Geographic smell survey. J. Gerontol. 50B:P179-P186.
Dark, J., Zucker, I., and Wade, G. N. 1983. Photoperiodic regulation of body mass, food intake, and reproduction in meadow voles. Am. J. Physiol. 245:R334-R338.
Dobson, F. S., and Michener, G. R. 1995. Maternal traits and reproduction in Richardson's ground squirrels. Evolution 76:851–862.
Doty, R. L., Shaman, P., Applebaum, S. L., Giberson, R., Sikorsy, L., and Rosenberg, L. 1984. Smell identification ability: Changes with age. Science 226:1441–1443.
Drickamer, L. C. 1992. Behavioral selection of odor cues by young female mice affects age of puberty. Dev. Psychobiol. 25:461–470.
Drickamer, L. C. 1995. Rates of urine excretion by house mouse (Mus domesticus): Differences by age, sex, social status, and reproductive condition. J. Chem. Ecol. 21:1481–1493.
Eliasson, M., and Meyerson, B. J. 1981. Development of sociosexual approach behavior in male laboratory rats. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 95:160–165.
Ferkin, M. H. 1999. Scent over-marking and adjacent-marking as competitive tactics used during chemical communication in voles, in R. E. Johnston, D. Muller Schwarze, and P. W. Sorenson (eds.). Advances in the Study of Chemical Signals in Vertebrates, Number 8. Plenum Press, New York. In press.
Ferkin, M. H., and Johnston, R. E. 1995. Meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, use multiple sources of scent for sexual recognition. Anim. Behav. 49:37–44.
Ferkin, M. H., and Seamon, J. O. 1987. Odor preferences and social behavior in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus: Seasonal differences. Can. J. Zool. 65:2931–2937.
Ferkin, M. H., Sorkin, E. S., Renfroe, M. W., and Johnston, R. E. 1994. Attractiveness of male odors to females varies directly with plasma testosterone concentration in meadow voles. Physiol. Behav. 55:347–353.
Ferkin, M. H., Sorokin, E. S., and Johnston, R. E. 1995. Seasonal changes in scents and responses to them in meadow voles: Evidence for the co-evolution of signals and response mechanisms. Ethology 100:89–98.
Ferkin, M. H., Sorokin, E. S., and Johnston, R. E. 1997. Effect of prolactin on the attractiveness of male odors to females in meadow voles: Independent and additive effects with testosterone. Horm. Behav. 31:55–63.
Festa-Bianchet, M., Jorgenson, J. T., Lucherini, M., and Wishart, W. D. 1995. Life history consequences of variation in age of primiparity in bighorn ewes. Ecology 76:871–881.
Forslund, P., and Part, T. 1995. Age and reproduction in birds—hypothesis and tests. TREE 10:374–378.
Gaillard, J.-M., Allaine, D., Pontier, D., Yoccoz, N. G., and Promislow, D. E. L. 1994. Senescence in natural populations of mammals: A reanalysis. Evolution 48:509–516.
Gonzalez-Mariscal, G., Melo, A. I., Zavala, A., and Beyer, C. 1992. Chin-marking behavior in male and female New Zealand rabbits: Onset, development, and activation by steroids. Physiol. Behav. 52:889–893.
Gorman, M. R., Ferkin, M. H., Nelson, R. J., and Zucker, I. 1993. Reproductive status influences odor preferences of the meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus, in winter day lengths. Can. J. Zool. 71:1748–1754.
Halpin, Z. T. 1986. Individual odors among mammals: Origins and functions. Adv. Study Behav. 16:39–70.
Herrera, E. 1992. Size of testis and scent glands in capybaras, Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris. J. Mammal. 73:871–875.
Hlinak, Z., and Krejci, I. 1990. Spontaneous behaviour, habituation, and sniffing responsiveness of aged female rats. Act. Nerv. Super. 32:87–94.
Hurst, J. L. 1993. The priming effects of urine substrate marks on interactions between male house mice, Mus musculus domesticus Schwarz & Schwarz. Anim. Behav. 45:55–81.
Johnston, R. E. 1983. Chemical signals and reproductive behavior, pp. 3–37, in J. G. Vandenbergh (ed.). Pheromones and Reproduction in Mammals. Academic Press, New York.
Kokko, H., and Lindstrom, J. 1996. Evolution of female preferences for old mates. Proc. R. Soc. London B. 263:1533–1538.
Larsson, K., and Essberg, L. 1962. Effect of age on the sexual behavior of the male rat. Geronotologia 6:133–143.
Le Boeuf, B. J., and Reiter, J. 1988. Lifetime reproductive success in northern elephant seals, pp. 344–362, in T. H. Clutton-Brock (ed.). Reproductive Success. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Leonard, S. T., and Ferkin, M. H. 1999. Prolactin mediates seasonal changes in male odor preferences for females in meadow voles, in R. E. Johnston, D. Muller-Schwarze, and P. Sorenson (eds.). Advances in Chemical Signals in Vertebrates, Vol. 8, Plenum Press, New York. In press.
Mencio-Wszalek, T., Ramirez, V. D., and Dluzen, D. E. 1992. Age-dependent changes in olfactory-mediated behavioral investigations in the male rat. Behav. Neural Biol. 57:205–212.
Negus, N. C., and Berger, P. J. 1988. Cohort analysis: Environmental cues and diapause in microtine rodents, pp. 65–74, in M. S. Boyce (ed.). Evolution of Life Histories of Mammals, Theory and Pattern. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.
Negus, N. C., Berger, P. J., and Pinter, A. J. 1992. Phenotypic plasticity of the montane volc (Microtus montanus) in unpredictable environments. Can. J. Zool. 70:2121–2124.
Nunn, N. J., Boyd, I. L., and Croxall, J. P. 1994. Reproductive performance of female Antarctic fur seals: The influence of age, breeding experience, environmental variation and individual quality. J. Anim. Ecol. 63:827–840.
Petersen, S. L. 1986. Age-related changes in plasma oestrogen concentration, behavioural responsiveness to oestrogen, and reproductive success in female gray-tailed voles, Microtus canicaudus. J. Reprod. Fertil. 78:57–64.
Promislow, D. E. L. 1991. Senescence in natural populations of mammals: a comparative study. Evolution 45:1869–1877.
Rose, M. R. 1991. Evolutionary Biology of Aging. Oxford University Press, New York.
Sheridan, M., and Tamarin, R. H. 1988. Space use, longevity, and reproductive success in meadow voles. Behav. Ecol. Sociobol. 22:85–90.
Slade, N. A. 1995. Failure to detect senescence in persistence of some grassland rodents. Ecology 76:863–870.
Solomon, N. G., and Rumbaugh, T. 1997. Odor preferences of weanling and mature male and female pine voles. J. Chem. Ecol. 23:2133–2143.
Spruijt, B. M., Mayerson, B. J., and Hoglund, U. 1989. Aging and sociosexual behavior in the male rat. Behav. Brain Res. 32:51–61.
Vega-Matusczyk, J., Appa, R. S., and Larsson, K. 1994. Age-dependent variations in the sexual preference of male rats. Physiol. Behav. 55:827–830.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ferkin, M.H. Attractiveness of Opposite-Sex Odor and Responses to It Vary with Age and Sex in Meadow Voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus). J Chem Ecol 25, 757–769 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020884431604
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020884431604