Parent-offspring discrimination in the prairie vole and the effects of odors and diet

Abstract

The objectives of this study on the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) were to determine whether (i) parents are able to distinguish their own young from alien young, (ii) conspecific odors influence parent-offspring discrimination, and (iii) diet affects the cues used in parent-offspring discrimination. Parent-offspring discrimination was inferred from differential behaviors directed by adults towards their own offspring and alien offspring. In experiment 1, parent-offspring dyads showed high frequencies of cohesive behaviors and low frequencies of agonistic behaviors, while dyads of adults and alien offspring showed significantly more agonistic and fewer cohesive behaviors. In experiment 2, dyads of parents with their own offspring were tested in an arena containing their own soiled shavings, soiled shavings from another family, or clean shavings. Dyads engaged in significantly fewer investigatory behaviors and more cohesive behaviors when tested with their own familiar odors than when tested with unfamiliar odors or odors from clean shavings. In experiment 3, we tested dyads of unrelated adults and young that had been fed either the same or different dietary supplements. There were no significant differences in the frequencies of investigatory, cohesive, or agonistic behaviors in dyads fed the same diet and those fed a different diet.