Behavioral characteristics of scent marking behavior in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

Behavioral characteristics of scent marking behavior in the Mongolian gerbil were investigated using the open-field apparatus. The gerbils raised in Japan exhibited a similar behavioral topography of scent marking behavior to those observed in the United States. The incidence and frequency of marking behavior were sexually dimorphic with predominance in males. A midventral sebaceous gland of the male was also larger than that of the female. In male gerbils which has been housed with other males (4 animals per cage), the frequency of marking was differed individually among the cage mates. On the other hand, when two males having similar marking frequency were housed in pairs for one month, one of the two increased the marking frequency compared with the prepairing whereas the other decreased it significantly. The evidence tends to support the notion that scent marking behavior is a species-common response in gerbils and that the behavior correlate to dominance and social ranking.