Differential marking, investigation and motor activity in presence of conspecific odours differing on their population of origin in bank voles

Odours emitted by rodent species convey cues about their overall body conditions and provide valuable information intervening in many aspects of their social relationships such as territorial and mating activities. Although bank vole is one of the primary models for studying chemical communication in wild rodents, literature is scarce about its reactivity to odours of conspecifics from its population compared to those of conspecifics from a different population. Here we tested the effect of the population of origin on the behaviour of wild bank voles (Myodes glareolus) through 30min tests in laboratory. We observed both males and females differential marking (i.e. by urine or glandular secretions), motor activity and investigation (i.e. sniffing events) in presence of conspecific whole body odours coming from either the Same Population of Origin (SPO) or from a Different Population of Origin (DPO). Our results showed that both male and female bank voles react differently to odours of conspecifics according to the population of origin of the latter. Both motor activity and marking were more important when voles were confronted to odours from DPO donors than SPO ones. These effects were independent of the sex of the subjects. Moreover, male subjects tended to investigate more odours from DPO conspecifics than odours from SPO ones. Causes underlying apparent between-populations differences in the bank voles' body odours are discussed.