title: Meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, can distinguish more over-marks from fewer over-marks.
abstract: Is it possible that voles have a sense of number? To address this question, we determined whether voles discriminate between two different scent-marking individuals and identify the individual whose scent marks was on top more often than the other individual. We tested whether voles show a preference for the individual whose scent marks was on top most often. If so, the simplest explanation was that voles can make a relative size judgement-such as distinguishing an area containing more of one individual's over-marks as compared to less of another individual's over-marks. We found that voles respond preferentially to the donor that provided a greater number of over-marks as compared to the donor that provided a lesser number of over-marks. Thus, we concluded that voles might display the capacity for relative numerousness. Interestingly, female voles were better able than male voles to distinguish between small differences in the relative number of over-marks by the two scent donors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, The University of Memphis, Ellington Hall, Memphis, TN 38152, USA. mhferkin@memphis.edu
authors.forename: Michael H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ferkin
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: Robert O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Sealand
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Delbarco-Trillo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000523:psychology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012903:Smell
chemical_list: D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; C452701:RANDAM-1 protein, mouse