DAY LENGTH INFLUENCES PRECEPTIVE BEHAVIOR OF FEMALE PRAIRIE VOLES (MICROTUS-OCHROGASTER)

Prairie voles typically do not breed during the winter; instead, they typically confine breeding to the spring and summer. One proximate cue contributing to this seasonal change in breeding among males is photo period. However, photoperiod does not appear to affect female fecundit y. Female prairie voles are induced into estrus by chemosensory cues i n the urine of male conspecifics. Females are exposed to these cues wh en they groom the ano-genital region of males. Females that do not gro om the ano-genital region of males rarely become estrus. Ano-genital g rooming can be considered a preceptive behavior because the onset of e strus is dependent upon females exhibiting this behavior. This study a ddressed whether or not photoperiod influenced the preceptive behavior of female prairie voles. The results indicated that females maintaine d in a long photoperiod groomed the ano-genital region of anesthetized stimulus males more frequently than females maintained in a short pho toperiod. This change in preceptive behavior may contribute to the sea sonal changes in breeding exhibited by prairie voles.