Abstracts Biological Sciences

Odor cues and sand digging by male mice

by Ann Orr

To test for the effect of odor cues on sand digging rates, male Swiss-Webster mice were given sand to dig under three scent conditions: clean, different male scented, and own scented. Scented sand was dug at a significantly higher rate than clean sand in the first phase of the experiment. When groups were switched to an opposite scent group, no significant changes to digging rates were found. However, the group which dug only clean sand for the entire test period did show a significant increase in its digging rate. It was concluded that odor cues under certain conditions were sufficient stimuli to elicit increases in sand digging rates.