Breeding history and olfactory discrimination in the Syrian hamster

The ability of outbred female Syrian hamsters to differentially respond to urine samples obtained from either inbred or outbred Syrian males was examined. The odors obtained from the males were introduced into a Y-maze olfactometer. On the basis of time spent in proximity to the stimuli, estrous females evidenced a preference for the urine of the outbred males. The same females when diestrus exhibited no apparent preferences. It is possible that the ability of females to make such subtle discriminations may impact on mate selection leading to positive assortment.