Scent marking in gerbils and its possible functions

Gromov V.S.

P. 113-126

Behaviors related to scent marking are compared and analyzed in males and females of four gerbil species (Meriones unguiculatus, M. tamariscinus, M. meridianus, and Psammomys obesus) observed in the wild and under semi-natural conditions. Scent-marking activity was found to vary in dependence on species, sex, age, reproductive conditions, social and territorial status of the individuals, and to show seasonal variation. The commonest patterns of scent marking are ventral rubbing and building up of ‘signal heaps’ with urine and feces. A close association between scent marking and social dominance was revealed in three species (M. unguiculatus, M. tamariscinus, M. meridianus). Spatial distribution of scent marks was found to be very uneven. Females marked most often the areas near burrow entrances, pathways and feeding sites. Males exhibited a higher rate of scent marking within home ranges of reproducing females. Inter-species differences in scent marking related to a species-specific space use systems and reproductive strategies were revealed. Results of the study partly support the scent-matching hypothesis and the status signaling hypothesis. However, these hypotheses do not predict spatial distribution of scent marks in male gerbils, and do not account for function of scent marking in young individuals as well as an increase of scent-marking activity induced by novelty factors. These findings are more consistent with the hypothesis of home range familiarization. Besides, scent marking in male gerbils could also function as a means of female monopolization.DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.14.1.06

• Ågren G., Zhou Q. & Zhong W. 1989. Ecology and social behaviour of Mongolian gerbils, Meriones unguiculatus, at Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China // Animal Behaviour. Vol.37. P.11-27.
• Brown R.E. & Macdonald D.W. 1985. Social Odours in Mammals. Vols.1-2. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 468 p.
• Daly M. & Daly S. 1975. Behaviour of Psammomys obesus (Rodentia: Gerbillinae) in the Algerian Sahara // Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie. Vol.39. P.298-321.
• Dubyansky M.A. 1962. [On bodies of died individuals in colonies of the great gerbil] // Byulleten' Moskovskogo Obshchestva Ispytatelei Prirody. Otd. Biol. Vol.17. No.4. P.154 [in Russian].
• Ferron J. & Ouellet J.P. 1989. Behavioural context and possible function of scent marking by cheek rubbing in the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) // Canadian Journal of Zoology. Vol.67. P.1650-1653.
• Fullenkamp A., Fischer R.B., Vance R.A. & Duffey K.A. 1985. The failure to demonstrate avoidance of ventral gland odors in male gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) // Physiology and Behavior. Vol.35. P.763-765.
• Gosling L.M. 1981. Demarkation in a gerenuk territory: an economic approach // Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie. Vol.56. P.305-322.
• Gosling L.M. 1982. A reassessment of the function of scent marking in territories // Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie. Vol.60. P.89-118.
• Gosling L.M. 1990. Scent marking by resource holders: alternative mechanisms for advertising the costs of competition // Macdonald D.W., Müller-Schwarze D. & Natyncczuk S.E. (eds.). Chemical Signals in Vertebrates. Vol.8. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. P.315-328.
• Gosling L.M. & McKay H.V. 1990. Competitor assessment by scent-matching: an experimental test // Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Vol.26. P.415-420.
• Gosling L.M. & Roberts S.C. 2001a. Scent-marking by male mammals: cheat-proof signals to competitors and mates // Advances in the Study of Behavior. Vol.30. P.169-217.
• Gosling L.M. & Roberts S.C. 2001b. Testing ideas about the function of scent marks in territories from spatial patterns // Animal Behaviour. Vol.62. P.F7-F10.
• Gromov V.S. 1997. [Scent marking in gerbils: a comparative analysis of four Meriones species] // Zhurnal Obshchei Biologii. No.58. P.46-80 [in Russian, with English summary].
• Gromov V.S. 2000. [Ethological Mechanisms of Population Homeostasis in Gerbils (Mammalia, Rodentia)]. Moscow: IPEE Press. 392 p. [In Russian, with English summary].
• Gromov V.S. 2001. Day-time activities and social interactions in a colony of the fat sand rats, Psammomys obesus, at the Negev Highlands, Israel // Mammalia. Vol.65. P.13-28.
• Gromov V.S. 2008. [Spatial-and-Ethological Population Structure in Rodents]. Moscow: KMK Sci. Press. 582 p. [In Russian, with English summary].
• Gromov V.S. 2011a. Rodents and space: what behavior do we study under semi-natural and laboratory conditions? // Triunvery A. & Scalise D. (eds.). Rodents: Habitat Pathology and Environmental Impact. New York: Nova Science Publishers. P.43-60.
• Gromov V.S. 2011b. Parental Care, Tactile Stimulation and Sociality Evolution in Rodents: Behavioural, physiological and developmental aspects. Saarbrücken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. 104 p.
• Halpin Z.T. 1974. Individual differences in the biological odors of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) // Behavioral Biology. Vol.11. P.253-259.
• Halpin Z.T. 1986. Individual odors among mammals: origins and functions // Advances in the Study of Behavior. Vol.16. P.39-70.
• Hediger H. 1949. Saügetier-Territorien und ihre Markierung // Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde. Vol. 28. P.172-184.
• Johston R.E., Sorokin E.S. & Ferkin M.H. 1997. Female voles discriminate males' over-marks and prefer top-scent males // Animal Behaviour. Vol.54. P.679-690.
• Kittrell E.M.W., Gregg B.R. & Thiessen D.D. 1982. Brood patch function for the ventral scent gland of the female Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus // Developmental Psychobiology. Vol.15. P.197-202.
• Kumari S. & Prakash I. 1981a. Scent-marking behaviour of Meriones hurrianae during oestrous // Animal Behaviour. Vol.29. P.1269-1271.
• Kumari S. & Prakash I. 1981b. Behavioural responses of Meriones hurrianae (Jerdon) to conspecific sebum of ventral sebaceous gland // Biology and Behavior. Vol.6. P.255-263.
• Lindzey G., Thiessen D.D. & Tucker A. 1968. Developmental and hormonal control of territorial marking in the male Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) // Developmental Psychobiology. Vol.1. P.97-99.
• Mech S.G., Dunlap A.S. & Wolff J.O. 2003. Female prairie voles do not choose males based on their frequency of scent-marking // Behavioral Processes. Vol.61. P.101-108.
• Müller-Schwarze D. & Heckman S. 1980. The social role of scent marking in beaver (Castor canadensis) // Journal of Chemical Ecology. Vol.6. P.81-95.
• Mykytowycz R. 1970. The role of skin glands in mammalian communication // Johnston J.W., Moulton D.G. & Turk A. (eds.). Advances in Chemoreception. I. Communication by Chemical Senses. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. P.327-360.
• Mykytowycz R. 1974. Odour in the spacing behaviour of mammals // Birch M.C. (ed.). Pheromones. Amsterdam: North-Holland. P.327-342.
• Mykytowycz R., Hesterman E.R., Gambale S. & Dudzinski M.L. 1976. A comparison of the effectiveness of the odors of rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, in enhancing territorial confidence // Journal of Chemical Ecology. Vol.2. P.13-24.
• Naumov N.P. & Goltsman M.E. 1972. [Behavioral and physiological responses of mammals to conspecific odours] // Uspekhi Sovremennoi Biologii. Vol.73. P.427-443 [in Russian].
• Owen K. & Thiessen D.D. 1973. Regulation of scent marking in the female Mongolian gerbil Meriones unguiculatus // Physiology and Behavior. Vol.11. P.441-445.
• Payman B.C. & Swanson H.H. 1981. Scent marking and dominance in enclosure colonies of gerbils // Behavioral and Brain Research. Vol.2. P.271-272.
• Popov S.V., Tchabovsky A.V., Shilova S.A. & Shchipanov N.A. 1989. [Mechanisms of formation of the spatial-and-ethological population structure in the midday gerbil] // [Fauna and Ecology of Rodents]. Issue 17. P.5-57 [in Russian].
• Prakash I. & Kumari S. 1979. Occurrence of ventral marking gland in desert rodents // Säugetierkundliche Mitteilungen. Vol.27. P.315-316.
• Rich T.J. & Hurst J.L. 1998. Scent marks as reliable signals of the competitive ability of mates // Animal Behaviour. Vol.56. P.727-735.
• Richardson P.R.K. 1991. Territorial significance of scent marking during the nonmating season in the Aardwolf Proteles cristatus (Carnivora: Protelidae) // Ethology. Vol.87. P.9-27.
• Roberts S.C. 2007. Scent marking // Wolff J.O. & Sherman P.W. (eds.). Rodent Societies - An Ecological & Evolutionary Perspective. Chicago: Univ. Chicago Press. P.255-266.
• Roberts S.C. & Lowen C. 1997. Optimal patterns of scent marks in klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) territories // Journal of Zoology. Vol.243. P.565-578.
• Sandell M. 1981. Revirmarkering hos daggdjur // Fauna och Flora (Sver.). Vol.76. P.205-208.
• Sokolov V.E. & Gromov V.S. 1998. [Scent territory marking in gerbils (Mammalia, Rodentia)]. Moscow: IPEE Press. 216 p. [In Russian, with English summary].
• Thiessen D.D. 1968. The roots of territorial marking in the Mongolian gerbil: A problem of species-common topography // Behavior Research Methods & Instrumentation. Vol.1. P.70-76.
• Thiessen D.D. 1973. Footholds for survival // American Scientist. Vol.61. P.346-351.
• Thiessen D.D., Blum S.L. & Lindzey G. 1969. A scent-marking response associated with the ventral sebaceous gland of the Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus // Animal Behaviour. Vol.18. P.26-30.
• Thomas S.A. 2002. Scent marking and mate choice in the prairie vole, Microtus ochrogaster // Animal Behaviour. Vol.63. P.1121-1127.
• Thomas S.A. & Wolff J.O. 2002. Scent marking in voles: a reassessment of counter marking, over marking, and self-advertisement // Ethology. Vol.108. P.51-62.
• Walraven V. & Van Elsacker L. 1992. Scent-marking in New World primates: A functional review // Acta Zoologica et Pathologica Antverpiensia. Vol.82. P.51-59.
• Whitsett J.M. & Thiessen D.D. 1972. Sex differences in the control of scent marking behaviour in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) // Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology. Vol.78. P.381-385.
• Zhiqin F. 1983. Ecological importance of the anal gland secretion of yellow voles (Lagurus luteus) // Chemical Signals in Vertebrates. Vol.3. Proc. 3rd International Symposium. Sarasota, Fla, April 11-13, 1982. New York - London. P.211-222.