Johnston R E, Kwan M
Behav Neural Biol. 1984 Nov;42(2):158-68. doi: 10.1016/s0163-1047(84)91007-0.
Male hamsters were tested for their responses to areas that had been scent marked by intact or vaginectomized females to determine the effects of naturally deposited vaginal secretions on male behavior. In the first experiment males produced more ultrasonic courtship calls when investigating areas marked by intact females than areas scented by vaginectomized females, demonstrating that vaginal marks facilitate such calling. In a wind-tunnel preference test situation in which scent-marked alleys and clean alleys served as sources of odor, males approached the scented alley first if it had been freshly marked by intact females but not if it had been scented by vaginectomized females or other males. Thus, the odors of vaginal marks are sufficient to attract males over short distances. After males entered these alleys they showed a preference for odors of both intact and vaginectomized females over no odors, but still spent significantly more time investigating the odors of intact females than those of vaginectomized females. These experiments indicate that vaginal secretions are one of the primary cues that elicit male courtship calling, and the small quantities of vaginal secretions deposited by females in vaginal marks are sufficient to elicit ultrasonic calling and attract males over short distances. Thus it is likely that vaginal scent marking and ultrasonic calling by females interact to facilitate attraction and location of mates during courtship.
对雄性仓鼠进行测试，观察它们对完整雌性或经阴道切除的雌性留下气味标记区域的反应，以确定自然分泌的阴道分泌物对雄性行为的影响。在第一个实验中，雄性仓鼠在调查完整雌性标记的区域时，比经阴道切除的雌性标记的区域发出更多的超声波求偶叫声，这表明阴道标记有助于发出此类叫声。在一个风洞偏好测试情境中，有气味标记的通道和干净通道作为气味源，如果有气味标记的通道是由完整雌性新标记的，雄性会首先靠近它，但如果是经阴道切除的雌性或其他雄性标记的，则不会。因此，阴道标记的气味足以在短距离内吸引雄性。雄性进入这些通道后，它们对完整雌性和经阴道切除的雌性的气味都表现出比对无气味的偏好，但仍然花显著更多的时间去调查完整雌性的气味，而不是经阴道切除的雌性的气味。这些实验表明，阴道分泌物是引发雄性求偶叫声的主要线索之一，雌性在阴道标记中分泌的少量阴道分泌物足以引发超声波叫声并在短距离内吸引雄性。因此，很可能雌性的阴道气味标记和超声波叫声在求偶过程中相互作用，以促进配偶的吸引和定位。
