Abstract In a study of gerbils with contrasting social and mating systems (group-living monogamous Mongolian gerbil Meriones unguiculatus, solitary nonterritorial promiscuous midday jird M. meridianus, and solitary territorial promiscuous pale gerbil Gerbillus perpallidus), we employed partner preference tests (PPTs) to assess among-species variation in sociability and pair-bonding patterns and tested whether the nature of contact between individuals: direct contact (DC) versus nondirect contact (NDC) affected our results. We measured male preferences as the time: 1) spent alone, 2) with familiar (partner), and 3) unfamiliar (stranger) female in the 3-chambered apparatus. Gerbil species differed strongly in sociability and male partner preferences. The time spent alone was a reliable indicator of species sociability independent of the nature of contact, whereas the pattern and level of between-species differences in male partner preferences depended on contact type: DC PPTs, unlike NDC-tests, discriminated well between monogamous and promiscuous species. In the DC-tests, stranger-directed aggression and stranger avoidance were observed both in the highly social monogamous M. unguiculatus and the solitary territorial promiscuous G. perpallidus, but not in the nonterritorial promiscuous M. meridianus. In M. unguiculatus, stranger avoidance in the DC-tests increased the time spent with the partner, thus providing evidence of a partner preference that was not found in the NDC-tests, whereas in G. perpallidus, stranger avoidance increased the time spent alone. This first comparative experimental study of partner preferences in gerbils provides new insights into the interspecific variation in gerbil sociality and mating systems and sheds light on behavioral mechanisms underlying social fidelity and pair-bonding.

中文翻译：

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沙鼠的社交性和配对关系：比较实验研究

摘要 在对具有对比社会和交配系统的沙鼠（群体生活的一夫一妻制的蒙古沙鼠 Meriones unguiculatus、独居的非领地性混交的正午沙鼠 M. meridianus 和独居的领地性混交的苍白沙鼠 Gerbillus perpallidus）的研究中，我们采用了伴侣偏好测试（PPT）来评估物种间社交性和配对模式的差异，并测试个体之间接触的性质：直接接触（DC）与非直接接触（NDC）是否影响我们的结果。我们测量了男性偏好的时间：1）独处，2）与熟悉的（伴侣）在一起，3）不熟悉的（陌生人）女性在三腔室中度过。沙鼠物种在社交能力和雄性伴侣偏好方面存在很大差异。单独度过的时间是独立于接触性质的物种社交性的可靠指标，而雄性伴侣偏好的物种间差异的模式和水平取决于接触类型：与 NDC 测试不同，DC PPT 可以很好地区分一夫一妻制和一夫一妻制的群体。杂乱的物种。在 DC 测试中，在高度群居的一夫一妻制 M. unguiculatus 和独居领地性混交的 G. perpallidus 中都观察到了针对陌生人的攻击和陌生人回避行为，但在非领地性混交的 M. meridianus 中却没有观察到。在 M. unguiculatus 中，DC 测试中回避陌生人增加了与伴侣相处的时间，从而提供了 NDC 测试中未发现的伴侣偏好证据，而在 G. perpallidus 中，回避陌生人增加了独处时间。这是第一个关于沙鼠伴侣偏好的比较实验研究，为沙鼠社会性和交配系统的种间变异提供了新的见解，并揭示了社会忠诚和配对关系的行为机制。