کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
---|---|---|---|---|
2416497 | 1104275 | 2013 | 11 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
![عکس صفحه اول مقاله: Social recognition is context dependent in single male prairie voles Social recognition is context dependent in single male prairie voles](/preview/png/2416497.png)
• We tested whether male prairie voles can recognize conspecific individuals.
• Single males learned to recognize other males but not females.
• Social recognition did not differ across different territorial contexts.
• Territorial context may increase individual variation in social recognition.
• Natural history may influence social cognition in a context-dependent fashion.
Single males might benefit from knowing the identity of neighbouring males when establishing and defending boundaries. Similarly, males should discriminate between individual females if this leads to more reproductive opportunities. Contextual social cues may alter the value of learning identity. Knowing the identity of competitors that intrude into an animal's territory may be more salient than knowing the identity of individuals on whose territory an animal is trespassing. Hence, social and environmental context could affect social recognition in many ways. Here we test social recognition of socially monogamous single male prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster. In experiment 1 we tested recognition of male or female conspecifics and found that males discriminated between different males but not between different females. In experiment 2 we asked whether recognition of males is influenced when males are tested in their own cage (familiar), in a clean cage (neutral) or in the home cage of another male (unfamiliar). Although focal males discriminated between male conspecifics in all three contexts, individual variation in recognition was lower when males were tested in their home cage (in the presence of familiar social cues) compared to when the context lacked social cues (neutral). Experiment 1 indicates that selective pressures may have operated to enhance male territorial behaviour and indiscriminate mate selection. Experiment 2 suggests that the presence of a conspecific cue heightens social recognition and that home-field advantages might extend to social cognition. Taken together, our results indicate social recognition depends on the social and possibly territorial context.
Journal: Animal Behaviour - Volume 86, Issue 5, November 2013, Pages 1085–1095