Conspecific and heterospecific behavioural discrimination of individual odours by mound-building mice.
We have tested the ability of male mound-building mice, Mus spicilegus, to discriminate on the basis of their social odours a) two males of their own species; and b) two males of the house mouse, Mus musculus domesticus. An habituation-dishabituation procedure was used. An experimental animal was presented with the scent from the same stimulus animal for four trials; on the fifth trial, scent from a second stimulus animal was presented. Male Mus spicilegus were able to discriminate the olfactory signatures of two mound-building mouse males but did not discriminate between the olfactory signatures of two house mouse males. The lack of inter-specific individual recognition is discussed in terms of specificity and attractive value of odour cues.
Gouat
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P
Laboratoire d'ethologie expérimentale et comparée, UPRES-A 7025, université Paris-Nord, 93430 Villetaneuse, France. pgouat@leec.univ-paris13.fr
Patris
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B
Lalande
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D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009115:Muridae / Q000502:physiology; D009812:Odorants