Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorChu, Xi
dc.contributor.authorÅgmo, Anders j
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-14T10:45:08Z
dc.date.available2024-02-14T10:45:08Z
dc.date.issued2023-05-17
dc.description.abstractSexual behavior is, by necessity, sexually dimorphic. Males transfer sperm to females, whereas females receive sperm from males. Discussions of sex differences in copulatory behavior are consequently trivial. However, the behaviors associated with copulation, for example mate choice or postcopulatory reactions, may well be similar in males and females. Such differences, even subtle, are far easier to observe in seminatural environments than in the standard laboratory cage. We will present examples of the use of seminatural environments in insects and rodents. Even though most studies of insect sexual behavior are performed in relatively simple laboratory procedures, there are also some studies performed in natural or seminatural conditions. We briefly describe the most common procedures used and mention the main results. It is noteworthy that insect studies focus on sexual approach behaviors, particularly the role of visual and olfactory stimuli in mate location. The actual copulatory behavior, i.e., how gametes are transferred from one individual to another, seems to be of less interest. The sexual behavior of rats has traditionally been studied in heterosexual pairs, despite the fact that they often copulate in groups. Nevertheless, data obtained in the simplified environment have advanced knowledge of the endocrine and neurobiological control of sex behavior in a quite spectacular way. The understanding of the dynamics of the sexual interaction and the possible function of the many peculiarities of rat sexual behavior has not advanced to a similar degree. Studies in seminatural environments may provide valuable data concerning sociosexual interactions and how such interactions are modified by contextual events. Furthermore, observations made in an environment, which incorporates the basic features of rats’ natural habitat, offer some external validity. This is of importance when we want to generalize our results to contexts outside the laboratory, and it becomes of paramount important when we want to make inferences about behavior in other species, for example the human. We offer here a detailed description of an environment designed for studies of group-living rats, with notes on the observation procedure and the analysis of the large quantity of data generated in the environment.en_US
dc.identifier.citationChu X, Ågmo Aj: Evaluation of Sexual Behavior in Laboratory vs Seminatural Conditions. In: Paredes RG, Portillo, Bedos. Animal Models of Reproductive Behavior, 2023. Springer p. 171-195en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 2223782
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/978-1-0716-3234-5_8
dc.identifier.isbn9781071632338
dc.identifier.issn0893-2336
dc.identifier.issn1940-6045
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/32927
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherSpringer Natureen_US
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2023 The Author(s)en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_US
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)en_US
dc.titleEvaluation of Sexual Behavior in Laboratory vs Seminatural Conditionsen_US
dc.type.versionacceptedVersionen_US
dc.typeChapteren_US
dc.typeBokkapittelen_US


File(s) in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following collection(s)

Show simple item record

Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)