Chemosignals and activity of wild stock house mice, with a note on the use of running wheels to assess activity in rodents

Two control tests and an experimental test were used to explore the effects of urinary chemosignals on activity in house mice (Mus domesticus). Control tests revealed that (a) house mice of both sexes and different ages cling to the wheel for significant and variable proportions of their revolutions and thus correction factors must be employed to obtain useable results, and (b) there is no social facilitation or inhibition of wheel running when mice are permitted to run in wheels housed near one another in the same room as opposed to being in separate rooms. Using running wheels for measurement periods of up to a week, we tested whether any of eight urinary odours or water (control) influenced activity in male and female mice that were prepubertal, pubertal, or adult. (1) Prepubertal females were more active when treated with adult male urine than when treated with prepubertal male urine or water. (2) Females of all three ages were generally more active when treated with urine from pregnant or lactating females when compared with the control treatment. (3) Prepubertal and pubertal males were more active when treated with urine from adult males than when treated with water. (4) Pubertal and adult males exhibited heightened running wheel activity when exposed to cues from oestrous, dioestrous, grouped females or prepubertal females. (5) Pubertal and adult females exhibited greater activity when exposed to urine from adult males. These findings can be interpreted with regard to the physiology and behavioural biology of the mice.