Multiple paternity in socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (10) ◽  
pp. 1667-1671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy G Solomon ◽  
Brian Keane ◽  
Lana R Knoch ◽  
Paula J Hogan
Keyword(s):  
Microsatellite Loci ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Model System ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Allelic Polymorphism ◽  
Pair Bonding ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
East Central ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
Central Illinois

Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster (Wagner, 1842)) exhibit behavioral, morphological, and neuroendocrinological traits associated with monogamy and are considered a model system to examine the biological foundations of monogamy in mammals. We examined allelic polymorphism at microsatellite loci to assess mating exclusivity in wild prairie voles sampled in east-central Illinois and found evidence of multiple paternity in five of nine litters (56%) analyzed. Thus, a female in this socially monogamous mammal with extensive mechanisms for pair bonding does not always mate solely with its partner and raises the paradox of why some pair-bonded females mate multiply.

scholarly journals Emergent intra-pair sex differences and behavioral coordination in pair bonded prairie voles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liza E. Brusman ◽  
David S. W. Protter ◽  
Allison C. Fultz ◽  
Maya U. Paulson ◽  
Gabriel D. Chapel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Pair Interaction ◽  
Pair Bonding ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Behavioral Correlates ◽  
Behavioral Dynamics ◽  
Pair Bonds ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
Distinct Pair ◽  
Free Interaction

AbstractIn pair bonding animals, coordinated behavior between partners is required for the pair to accomplish shared goals such as raising young. Despite this, experimental designs rarely assess the behavior of both partners within a bonded pair. Thus, we lack an understanding of the interdependent behavioral dynamics between partners that likely facilitate relationship success. To identify intra-pair behavioral correlates of pair bonding, we used socially monogamous prairie voles, a species in which females and males exhibit both overlapping and distinct pair bond behaviors. We tested both partners using social choice and non-choice tests at short- and long-term pairing timepoints. Females developed a preference for their partner more rapidly than males, with preference driven by different behaviors in each sex. Further, as bonds matured, intra-pair behavioral sex differences and coordinated behavior emerged – females consistently huddled more with their partner than males did, and partner huddle time became correlated between partners. When animals were allowed to freely interact with a partner or a novel in sequential free interaction tests, pairs spent more time interacting together than either animal did with a novel. Pair interaction was correlated with female, but not male, behavior. Via a social operant paradigm, we found that pair-bonded females, but not males, are more motivated to access and huddle with their partner than a novel vole. Together, our data indicate that as pair bonds mature, sex differences and coordinated behavior emerge, and that these intra-pair behavioral changes are likely organized and driven by the female animal.

scholarly journals Breeding patterns of female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) displaying alternative reproductive tactics

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 990-999
Author(s):  
James B Lichter ◽  
Connor T Lambert ◽  
Nancy G Solomon ◽  
Brian Keane
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Alternative Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Social Partner ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Reproductive Tactics ◽  
Resident Male ◽  
Primary Determinant ◽  
Alternative Behaviors

Abstract Individuals of either sex may display alternative behaviors to obtain copulations, but few studies have examined the breeding patterns of females and males in populations where individuals of both sexes exhibit alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs). In prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), most adults are territorial, residing at a single nest site either as male–female pairs or as solitary individuals. However, some adults adopt nonterritorial, wandering tactics. During two field seasons monitoring prairie vole populations maintained in seminatural enclosures, we found evidence that females exhibiting different ARTs bred differentially with resident and wandering males. Females residing at a nest with a male bred significantly more often with a paired resident male, primarily their social partner, and significantly less often with male wanderers compared to single resident females or wandering females. These patterns were not due to chance, because paired resident females produced offspring with paired resident males significantly more than expected based on the relative abundance of these males in the population, whereas single resident females produced offspring with male wanderers significantly more than expected based on the proportion of male wanderers in the population. We did not find any evidence that multiple paternity was greater in the litters of single resident females and wanderer females even though these females lacked a male social partner to limit mating access by multiple males. This suggests that mate guarding by a female’s male social partner was not the primary determinant of multiple paternity in the litters of females exhibiting different reproductive tactics. However, male ART did affect the likelihood of multiple paternity. Females that produced offspring with single resident or wanderer males had an increased likelihood of multiple paternity relative to females producing offspring with paired resident males. The results of this study show that female and male ARTs can affect breeding patterns.

Mating increases male's interest in other females: A cognitive study in socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

2011 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie T. Parker ◽  
Natalia Rodriguez ◽  
Basirat Lawal ◽  
Christine J. Delevan ◽  
Maryam Bamshad
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
Cognitive Study

scholarly journals Dopamine D2 receptor-mediated regulation of partner preferences in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster): A mechanism for pair bonding?

1999 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 602-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuoxin Wang ◽  
Guozhong Yu ◽  
Carissa Cascio ◽  
Yan Liu ◽  
Brenden Gingrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dopamine D2 Receptor ◽  
D2 Receptor ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Pair Bonding ◽  
Prairie Voles ◽  
Partner Preferences ◽  
Dopamine D2

Fourteen years of population fluctuations of Microtus ochrogaster and M. pennsylvanicus in east central Illinois

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1317-1325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lowell L. Getz ◽  
Joyce E. Hofmann ◽  
Brian J. Klatt ◽  
Louis Verner ◽  
F. Russell Cole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Tallgrass Prairie ◽  
Population Cycles ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Population Fluctuations ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Short Term ◽  
East Central ◽  
Central Illinois

Population densities of Microtus ochrogaster and M. pennsylvanicus were monitored from 1972 to 1986 in three habitats: alfalfa, bluegrass, and tallgrass prairie. Microtus ochrogaster displayed two apparent multiannual population cycles in alfalfa and bluegrass from 1972 to 1976; thereafter only annual (alfalfa) or erratic (bluegrass) fluctuations were apparent. Except for extremely high densities during 1984–1985, population fluctuations of M. ochrogaster in tallgrass were erratically low and there was no evidence of multiannual cycles. During 15 of 29 changes in population density of M. ochrogaster, the amplitude of fluctuations was more than 10-fold; 14 of these changes were preceded by marked population declines or very low densities the previous winter and spring. Microtus pennsylvanicus displayed annual fluctuations in abundance in alfalfa and bluegrass and was erratically high at all times in tallgrass. Only 7 of 32 population fluctuations of M. pennsylvanicus had amplitudes of at least 10-fold; in all 7 cases population density had been high the previous year. We conclude that distinct multiannual population cycles were not characteristic of either species in any habitat over the 14 years. Most previous assumptions of multiannual cycles in these species may be artifacts of short-term studies.

scholarly journals Modulation of pair bonding in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) by corticosterone.

1995 ◽  
Vol 92 (17) ◽  
pp. 7744-7748 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. DeVries ◽  
M. B. DeVries ◽  
S. Taymans ◽  
C. S. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Microtus Ochrogaster ◽  
Pair Bonding ◽  
Prairie Voles
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