CHEMICAL COMMUNICATION IN THE SUBTERRANEAN RODENT CTENOMYS TALARUM: RECOGNITION, AGGRESSION AND REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR

ZENUTO, RR; FANJUL, MS

Mendoza, argentina

Congreso; 10 th International Mammalogical Congress; 2009

The subterranean habitat provides environmental stability and safety from predators but, at the same time, represents challenges toobtain information from conspecifics, especially for solitary species, even occupying neighboring burrows. Sensory adaptations forliving underground comprise particular adaptations for visual, auditory and somatosensory systems. Subterranean rodents arecandidates to employ the chemical channel of communication because they are mammals, but also due to severe constraintsimposed in using other channels. Until recently, our knowledge about chemical communication in solitary subterranean rodents wasalmost restricted to one species, since only deeply studies were developed in blind mole-rats. Here we summarize our studies onchemical communication in Ctenomys talarum, a solitary subterranean rodent that concentrates most of their daily activities undergroundbut venture away from their tunnels for collecting grasses, during dispersal or searching for mates. Olfactory chemosensory cues inurine, feces and soiled shavings provide individual and sex identity, but the discrimination of reproductive condition requires thatanimals have direct contact with the odor source. Information about sex identity and reproductive status obtained investigatingscents at the entries of burrows may represent valuable information for dispersing individuals or while searching for mates. Familiarityby odor cues affects both territorial and reproductive behaviors. Familiar male tuco-tucos responded less aggressively during conteststhan stranger males or males familiarized with a different male odor than the one with which they interacted. Females distinguishstranger from familiar males, showing low latencies to recognition behaviors and low aggression levels towards familiar partners.Hence, familiarization could reduce energetic costs, time spent in courtship, and probably stress derived from aggressive encounters.