title: Stress coping styles and singing behavior in the short-tailed singing mouse (Scotinomys teguina).
abstract: Stress coping styles have been characterized as a proactive/reactive dichotomy in laboratory and domesticated animals. In this study, we examined the prevalence of proactive/reactive stress coping styles in wild-caught short-tailed singing mice (Scotinomys teguina). We compared stress responses to spontaneous singing, a social and reproductive behavior that characterizes this species. To establish proactive/reactive profiles for singing mice, we measured exploratory and anxiety behavior using an open-field behavioral test. We examined correlations between open-field behaviors and fecal corticosterone (CORT) metabolites, baseline plasma CORT, and stress-induced CORT. Mice with proactive behavioral responses in the open-field had higher fecal CORT titers than reactive males, but did not differ in baseline or stress-induced plasma CORT. We suggest that individual differences in CORT metabolism may contribute to this surprising pattern. Males that sang in the open-field were behaviorally proactive and had lower stress-induced CORT, indicating a link between stress responses and singing in this species. Overall, the data demonstrate that singing mice offer an interesting model for exploring how stress reactivity can shape social behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. andrea.crino@umontana.edu
authors.forename: Ondi L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Crino
authors.forename: Iske
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Larkin
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Phelps
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009115:Muridae / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000378:metabolism; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003345:Corticosterone