Day length influences proceptive behavior of female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). 1994

C A Moffatt, and R J Nelson
Department of Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218.

Prairie voles typically do not breed during the winter; instead, they typically confine breeding to the spring and summer. One proximate cue contributing to this seasonal change in breeding among males is photoperiod. However, photoperiod does not appear to affect female fecundity. Female prairie voles are induced into estrus by chemosensory cues in the urine of male conspecifies. Females are exposed to these cues when they groom the ano-genital region of males. Females that do not groom the ano-genital region of males rarely become estrus. Ano-genital grooming can be considered a proceptive behavior because the onset of estrus is dependent upon females exhibiting this behavior. This study addressed whether or not photoperiod influenced the proceptive behavior of female prairie voles. The results indicated that females maintained in a long photoperiod groomed the ano-genital region of anesthetized stimulus males more frequently than females maintained in a short photoperiod. This change in proceptive behavior may contribute to the seasonal changes in breeding exhibited by prairie voles.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008027 Light That portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared range. Light, Visible,Photoradiation,Radiation, Visible,Visible Radiation,Photoradiations,Radiations, Visible,Visible Light,Visible Radiations
D008297 Male Males
D011247 Pregnancy The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH. Gestation,Pregnancies
D004971 Estrus The period in the ESTROUS CYCLE associated with maximum sexual receptivity and fertility in non-primate female mammals.
D005260 Female Females
D006120 Grooming An animal's cleaning and caring for the body surface. This includes preening, the cleaning and oiling of feathers with the bill or of hair with the tongue. Preening,Groomings,Preenings
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012621 Seasons Divisions of the year according to some regularly recurrent phenomena usually astronomical or climatic. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed) Seasonal Variation,Season,Seasonal Variations,Variation, Seasonal,Variations, Seasonal
D012724 Sex Attractants Pheromones that elicit sexual attraction or mating behavior usually in members of the opposite sex in the same species. Copulins,Pheromones, Sexual,Sex Pheromones,Sexual Pheromone,Sex Attractant,Sex Pheromone,Attractant, Sex,Attractants, Sex,Pheromone, Sex,Pheromone, Sexual,Pheromones, Sex,Sexual Pheromones
D012726 Sexual Behavior, Animal Sexual activities of animals. Mating Behavior, Animal,Sex Behavior, Animal,Animal Mating Behavior,Animal Mating Behaviors,Animal Sex Behavior,Animal Sex Behaviors,Animal Sexual Behavior,Animal Sexual Behaviors,Mating Behaviors, Animal,Sex Behaviors, Animal,Sexual Behaviors, Animal

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