Exploring the behavioral reactions to a mirror in the nocturnal grey mouse lemur: sex differences in avoidance

PeerJ

article

Pauline B. Zablocki-Thomas¹  Grégoire Boulinguez-Ambroise¹  Camille Pacou¹  Justine Mézier¹  Anthony Herrel¹  Fabienne Aujard¹  Emmanuelle Pouydebat¹ 

[1] Département d’Écologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversité, Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle;California National Primate Research Center;Evolutionary Morphology of Vertebrates, Ghent University

关键词: Personality;    Mirror-Image Stimulations;    Ecology;    Primates;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.11393

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Most mirror-image stimulation studies (MIS) have been conducted on social and diurnal animals in order to explore self-recognition, social responses, and personality traits. Small, nocturnal mammals are difficult to study in the wild and are under-represented in experimental behavioral studies. In this pilot study, we explored the behavioral reaction of a small nocturnal solitary forager—the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus)—an emergent animal model in captivity. We assessed whether MIS can be used to detect a repeatable behavioral reaction, whether individuals will present a similar reaction toward a conspecific and the mirror, and whether males and females respond similarly. We tested 12 individuals (six males and six females) twice in three different contexts: with a mirror, with a live conspecific, and with a white board as a neutral control. We detected significant repeatability for the activity component of the behavioral reaction. There was a significant effect of the context and the interaction between presentation context and sex for avoidance during the first session for males but not for females. Males avoided the mirror more than they avoided a live conspecific. This pilot study opens a discussion on the behavioral differences between males and females regarding social interactions and reproduction in the nocturnal solitary species, and suggests that males are more sensitive to context of stimulation than females.

【 授权许可】

CC BY