Nazarova G.G., Proskurnjak L.P., Yuzik E.I. 2024. Factors affecting the urine-marking activity in water voles Arvicola amphibius (Rodentia, Cricetidae) // Russian J. Theriol. Vol.23. No.2. P.155–161 [in English].
Galina G. Nazarova [galinanazarova@mail.ru], Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Frunze str., 11, Novosibirsk 630091, Russia; Ludmila P. Proskurnjak [ludaproskurnjak@mail.ru], Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Frunze str., 11, Novosibirsk 630091, Russia; Ekaterina I. Yuzik [infuturo@mail.ru], Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Frunze str., 11, Novosibirsk 630091, Russia.
doi: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.23.2.05
ABSTRACT. Water voles inhabiting Western Siberia in spring, after the snow melts, leave wintering stations and occupy the banks of rivers, ditches, and swamps. During this period, urine-marking behavior can be of great importance for initiating reproduction and maintaining the social relationships in population. We studied the urine marking rates under laboratory conditions in winter and spring months to understand the role of urine signals in the intraspecies communication. We hypothesized that the number of urine scent marks depends on the season of the year, sex, the vaginal cytology in females, and blood testosterone level in males. Urine marking rates were evaluated in an unfamiliar clean cage. The results we obtained have confirmed the hypothesis. In spring, urine-marking activity increases, with males have more urine marks than females. In May, there was a positive correlation between blood testosterone levels, body mass (r = 0.626, p = 0.022), and anogenital distance (r = 0.701, p = 0.008), which reflects the size of testes. A positive relationship was found between the testosterone levels in blood measured in May and the average monthly number of urine marks left by the males (r = 0.577, p = 0.039). In females, at the beginning of the reproductive season, an increase in urine-marking activity was noted in individuals with a high content of keratinized epithelial cells in vaginal smear, i.e., physiologically ready for mating (r = 0.624, p = 0.013). We concluded that increased urine scent marking behavior during the spring month helps to synchronize reproduction.
KEY WORDS: urine-marking frequency, sex, season, puberty, testosterone, growth.