Importance of gender for the display of social impairment in pairbond disrupted gerbils

Abstract

Gerbils form stable male/female pairbonds. Disruption of these has been shown to have consequences for subsequent social behaviour. The response in males is typically a decrease in the initiation of social contacts, whilst females typically freeze when approached. The current studies examined the influence on these phenomena of the gender of the stimulus animal. Data revealed that a similar increase in immobile-in-contact was seen in pairbond disrupted females regardless of whether they were interacting with males or females. By contrast, reductions in social behaviour were only seen in males when interacting with other males. Social investigation was increased when interacting with females. These results are interpreted in the context of gerbil social organisation in the wild. That is, whilst females continue to represent a possibility for opportunistic mating, decreased social investigation and offense directed towards other males indicates a reduced capacity for territorial defence. Together, present findings demonstrate that there are clear sex-differences in the behavioural effects of pairbond disruption in gerbils but that it is only in males that the expression of these effects is influenced by the sex of the stimulus animal.