Date of Award
Spring 6-3-2017
Document Type
Honors Project
University Scholars Director
Dr. Jeff Keuss
First Advisor/Committee Member
Janet Bester-Meredith
Second Advisor/Committee Member
Baine Craft
Keywords
maternal recognition, maternal behavior, social behavior, olfaction, anosmia, California mouse
Abstract
Previous studies have established a connection between social behavior and olfaction, in that as anosmia causes a decrease in perception of social cues, social behavior itself decreases. Studies investigating maternal behavior specifically have focused on foster care, in which the behaviors formed during parturition are conserved and displayed with unrelated pups. The combination of long-term retention of maternal behavior, maternal recognition, and olfaction has yet to be explored. In this study, I induced anosmia in Peromyscus californicus, a monogamous, biparental species, and analyzed their behavior with their own pups and with foreign pups in the days after birth, as well as in the weeks after weaning. I concluded that mothers retaining their sense of smell showed a slight preference for their own pup compared to a foreign pup—more so than anosmic mothers. This trend was consistent regardless of the day of testing. Therefore, anosmia, but not time, impaired maternal recognition of offspring.
Recommended Citation
Conley, Mariah F., "Exploring the Impact of Olfaction on Short-Term and Long-Term Maternal Recognition in Peromyscus californicus" (2017). Honors Projects. 66.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/66
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author.
Included in
Animals Commons, Animal Studies Commons, Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons, Biology Commons, Other Animal Sciences Commons
Comments
A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University Scholars Program