Dynamic changes to signal allocation rules in response to variable social environments in house mice.
Commun Biol
; 6(1): 297, 2023 03 21.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36941412
ABSTRACT
Urine marking is central to mouse social behavior. Males use depletable and costly urine marks in intrasexual competition and mate attraction. We investigate how males alter signaling decisions across variable social landscapes using thermal imaging to capture spatiotemporal marking data. Thermal recording reveals fine-scale adjustments in urinary motor patterns in response to competition and social odors. Males demonstrate striking winner-loser effects in scent mark allocation effort and timing. Competitive experience primes temporal features of marking and modulates responses to scent familiarity. Males adjust signaling effort, mark latency, and marking rhythm, depending on the scent identities in the environment. Notably, recent contest outcome affects how males respond to familiar and unfamiliar urine. Winners increase marking effort toward unfamiliar relative to familiar male scents, whereas losers reduce marking effort to unfamiliar but increase to familiar rival scents. All males adjust their scent mark timing after a contest regardless of fight outcome, and deposit marks in more rapid bursts during marking bouts. In contrast to this dynamism, initial signal investment predicts aspects of scent marking days later, revealing the possibility of alternative marking strategies among competitive males. These data show that mice flexibly update their signaling decisions in response to changing social landscapes.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Conducta Social
/
Conducta Animal
Tipo de estudio:
Prognostic_studies
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Commun Biol
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos