What does a mouse do to recognize its sex partner?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chipmank
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion explores how mice recognize their sex partners, focusing on the role of scent in this recognition process. It includes various hypotheses about the implications of scent and the behaviors that may arise from it.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that male mice primarily use scent to identify female partners.
  • Others question whether a male mouse could be deceived by applying female scents to it, suggesting that the male's own scent may still influence behavior.
  • A participant notes that male mice might exhibit aggressive behavior towards other males based on scent cues related to female presence.
  • It is mentioned that female mice also utilize scent for partner recognition and may even abort a fetus if they change partners, indicating a complex interplay of scent and hormonal signals.
  • One participant challenges the assumption that the original mouse in the discussion is male, highlighting the 50/50 chance of gender in mice.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the mechanisms of scent recognition in mice, with no consensus reached on the extent to which scent influences behavior or partner recognition.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on specific assumptions about gender and behavior that are not fully explored, and the discussion does not resolve the complexities of scent interactions.

Chipmank
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
What does a mouse do to recognize its sex partner ?

Thanks
 
Biology news on Phys.org
Most likely it smells out females.
 
if so, will he be fooled if people coat the the male mouse with female scent ?
 
Chipmank said:
if so, will he be fooled if people coat the the male mouse with female scent ?

Not entirely, because the male mouse will still have its own scent (might even initiate some aggressive behavior if one male perceives that the other male has been with a female he "desires"). But, you can put the male mouse into a cage with bedding soiled by the female to start the arousal process, even without the female present.
 
Snazzy said:
Most likely it smells out females.
Are you sure you want to make this generalization? You've made an assumption that the original mouse is male.
There is only a 50/50 chance that is true.
 
Last edited:
Females use scent too. A female mopuse will even abort a foetus if she changes partners, based on the difference in smell in her new partner and her old one (and a hormone he secretes).
 

Similar threads

Systematic review of plant sex terms?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Sex determination based on food availability
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Sexing Winston the Chinese Pond Turtle
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Angular Momentum Problem: Mouse walking on a rotating turntable
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
Truth and facts about soy, soy products and tofu (some questions)
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
Programmable mouse\multi-functional mouse?
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
High School Newton's 3rd Law interactions with 2nd and 1st Law Partners
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
How does an organism know the sequence of a protein?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
Program Ubuntu to ignore mouse clicks that are very close in time
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
5K
Does OK hemoglobin make a low level of iron in blood OK?
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
3K