Rat Pups Prefer their Siblings to their Mothers: Possible Implications for the Development of Kin Recognition

Abstract

Previous experiments have indicated that for rat pups some learning of their kin's characteristics is required for kin recognition. By differentially scenting the mother and litter with artificial odours, the possible role of each in the development of this ability can be assessed. 12- and 20-day-old rat pups were given a preference tests between the odour associated with their mother and an odour associated with their littermates. It was hypothesized that, because of the importance of the mother to her pups, individuals would preferentially acquire information from her and thus exhibit a preference for that odour. The results, however, did not support this: Both 12- and 20-day-old rat pups were found to prefer their littermate's odour to that of their mother. A further experiment revealed this did not reflect an aversion to their mother's odour. This preference for sibling littermates probably reflects the greater exposure of littermates to one another. The possible advantages of learning about one's kin from littermates are discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Beach

F. A.

Jaynes

(1956). Studies of maternal retrieving in rats. 1. Recognition of young. Journal of Mammalogy 37, 177–180.

Brunjes

P. C.

Alberts

J. R.

(1979). Olfactory stimulation induces filial preferences for huddling in rat pups. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology 93, 548–555.

Colgan

(1983). Comparative social recognition New York: Wiley.

Galef

B. G.

(1982). Acquisition and waning of exposure-induced attraction to non-natural odor in rat pups. Developmental Psychobiology 15, 479–490.

Galef

B. G.

Kaner

H. C.

(1980). Establishment and maintenance of preference for natural and artificial olfactory stimuli in juvenile rats. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology 94, 588–595.

Grau

H. J.

(1982). Kin recognition in the white-footed deermice (Peromyscus leucopus). Animal Behaviour 30, 497–505.

Hepper

P. G.

(1983). Sibling recognition in the rat. Animal Behaviour 31, 1177–1191.

Hepper

P. G.

(1986a). Kin recognition: Functions and mechanisms. A review. Biological Reviews 61, 63–93.

Hepper

P. G.

(1986b). Sibling recognition in the rat: Change in stimulus value or individual preference?. Animal Behaviour 34, 607–609.

10.

Hepper

P. G.

(1986c). Parental recognition in the rat. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 38B, 151–160.

11.

Kareem

A. M.

Barnard

C. J.

(1982). The importance of kinship and familiarity in social interactions between mice. Animal Behaviour 30, 594–601.

12.

Marr

J. N.

Gardner

L. E.

(1965). Early olfactory experience and later social behavior in the rat: Preference, sexual responsiveness, and care of young. Journal of Genetic Psychology 107, 167–174.

13.

Marr

J. N.

Lilliston

L. G.

(1969). Social attachment in rats by odour and age. Behaviour 33, 277–282.

14.

Porter

R. H.

Matochik

J. A.

Makin

J. W.

(1984). The role of familiarity in the development of social preferences in spiny mice. Behavioural Processes 9, 241–254.

15.

Porter

R. H.

Tepper

V. J.

White

D. M.

(1981). Experiential influences on the development of huddling preferences and “sibling” recognition in spiny mice. Developmental Psychobiology 14, 375–382.

16.

Siegel

(1956). Non Parametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences London: McGraw Hill.

17.

Wills

G. D.

Wesley

A. L.

Sisemore

D. A.

Anderson

H. N.

Banks

L. M.

(1983). Discrimination by olfactory cues in albino rats reflecting familiarity and relatedness among conspecifics. Behavioral and Neural Biology 38, 139–143.