Abstract
The bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) is a common European rodent, which is relatively easy to breed in laboratory conditions. In this species, similarly to other mammals, chemical compounds present in urine, faces or skin gland secretions can serve as olfactory signals for conspecifics (Marchlewska-Koj, 1984; Stoddard and Sales, 1985). In a natural population, adult females are territorial, and during the breeding season each female’s home range overlaps with the home range of several males (Bujalska, 1973). The results of laboratory experiments indicate that marking behavior in bank vole males is correlated with the hierarchical status of the animals, and it has been suggested that the urine of adult males contains chemical signals involved in maintaining their social organization (Rozenfeld et al., 1987). This is consistent with observations of bank vole females, which show an increase of behavioral activity in response to chemosignals from dominating adult males (Kruczek and Pochron, 1997).
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