PATTERN OF POST-EJACULATORY URINATION AND SOCIO-SEXUAL BEHAVIOR IN THE RAT

Two related aspects of the male rat''s postejaculatory behavior in a seminatural environment were discussed: the consistency in his location within this environment and the occurrence of postejaculatory urination. In these studies, the environment was subdivided into 10 areas. After ejaculating, the male rats tended to remain in 1 location, the resting place. For each male, this resting place tended to be the same as the site at which had had ejaculated (ejaculation site). The male tended to return to the same ejaculation site and the same resting place over successive ejaculatory series. During the postejaculatory interval, the males deposited significant amounts of urine on the substrate. Males and females spent significant amounts of time investigating this urine, and the urine deposits may serve as cues which mediate the subjects'' returning to the same area over subsequent ejaculatory series.