| Abstract: | Reviews data indicating that the female of many rodent forms plays a more important role in initiating and maintaining courtship and copulatory activities than has been generally believed. Olfaction is suggested as a major means by which a number of courtship functions of some rodents are mediated, analogous to the use of vision by many nonmammalian forms. E.g., the determination of an appropriate mating partner in some sympatric species may depend on female discrimination of male odors. The males, but not females, have scent glands which are largest during the breeding season and fulfill a number of general theoretical requirements for characters related to maintenance of sexual isolation. More attention needs to be paid to wild forms in relation to these and other factors, since inbreeding probably influences the production and perception of odors involved in such behaviors. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
