Social olfaction in male brown lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus = ^Itrimucronatus^R) and collared lemmings (^IDicrostonyx groenlandicus^R): I. Discrimination of species, sex, and estrous condition

• Published in: Journal of comparative psychology (1983) Vol. 98; no. 1; pp. 54 - 59
• Main Authors: Huck, U. William, Banks, Edwin M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-03-1984
• Subjects: Animal; Animals; Arvicolinae; Biological and medical sciences; Discrimination Learning; Estrus; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Male; Male Animals; Mammalian reproduction. General aspects; Odor Discrimination; Preferences; Pregnancy; Rodents; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Smell; Social Behavior; Species Differences; Species Specificity; Vertebrates: reproduction; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Estrus; Preference; Sexual behavior; Olfaction; Rodentia; Sex; Male; Stimulus discrimination; Species
• ISSN: 0735-7036; 1939-2087
• DOI: 10.1037/0735-7036.98.1.54

Five experiments were conducted with 196 collared and 243 brown male lemmings. When tested in a Y-maze olfactometer, sexually experienced and naive Ss of both species preferred the odor of conspecific females to the odor of females of another species. Both experienced and naive males also preferred the odor of conspecific females to that of conspecific males. Only sexually experienced males showed a significant preference for estrous over nonestrous conspecific females. Sexually experienced males also discriminated between estrous and nonestrous heterospecific females of a familiar (lemming) and unfamiliar (meadow vole,
Microtus pennsylvanicus
) species. In conjunction with the results of earlier studies of the development of species-specific olfactory preferences, findings suggest that 2 olfactory cues mediate a male's attraction to receptive females: a species-specific odor that is learned during early development and a sexual attractant whose saliency is established as a result of adult experience with a receptive female. (30 ref)