| Abstract: | Tested 20 sexually naive mature P. m. bairdi female mice for male mouse (P. m. bairdi and P. l. noveboracensis) odor preferences during natural estrous and diestrous conditions in a 2-choice Plexiglas olfactorium. The homospecific odor side was chosen 76% of the time by estrous Ss and 43% of the time by diestrous Ss. Only the estrous group differed significantly from the expected 50:50 distribution. High intratest reliability coefficients suggested stable modes of responding within test sessions. These findings suggest female P. m. bairdi reactions to male mouse odors are influenced by gonadal state, and that olfaction conceivably plays a role in sexual isolation between these species. (29 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
