Female sexual preferences differ inMus spicilegusandMus musculus domesticus: the role of familiarization and sexual experience

Abstract

Mating systems correspond to particular ecological conditions and result from proximate interactions between individuals. We compared the mating preferences of female mice of two species: the house mouse,Mus musculus domesticus, and the mound-builder mouse,Mus spicilegus. Because of differences in their habitat, we expected to observe differences in their sexual preferences. We studied female preferences for a familiar or an unfamiliar male and the occurrence of copulation with the unfamiliar male, during two states of female sexual activity: (1) the postpartum oestrus of paired females, to evaluate the stability of their sexual partnership; and (2) the oestrus of females familiarized with a male, to study the mechanisms underlying their sexual preferences. In the polygamous house mouse, postpartum oestrous females did not show a clear preference between their familiar male and the unfamiliar one. Moreover, oestrous females, familiarized with a male (without sexual interactions), preferred an unfamiliar male and copulated with him. In contrast, postpartum oestrous females and oestrous females ofM.spicileguspreferred their familiar male and rarely copulated with the unfamiliar male. This study indicates a strong pair bond in established breeding pairs inM.spicilegusand shows that this bond can be established by familiarization, which is not the case inM.m. domesticus. Our study suggests the existence of monogamous traits inM.spicilegusin contrast to the polygamousM.m. domesticus.