Quantifying Variability in the Social Behavior of Free-living Prairie Voles Using Advanced Bio-logging Approaches & Transgenic Manipulations

Abstract

Understanding consistent individual variation in animal behavior is crucial for unraveling its ecological and evolutionary significance. Historically overlooked, such variation has profound implications for individual fitness, population dynamics, and species interactions. Genetic differences among individuals can significantly modulate behavior, yet studying this in natural environments remains challenging. Bio-logging technology offers a promising avenue for remotely quantifying animal behavior in the wild with realtime acquisition of abundant and precise data. Leveraging a genetic variant (Shank3 mutation) in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster), known for their social monogamy, we developed a bio-logging system to investigate individual behavior variation in naturalistic environments. Our study aimed to evaluate the system's effectiveness and explore the impact of the Shank3 gene on vole behavior. We found reduced sociality in Shank3 mutant female voles, reflected in increased interaction distances and possibly decreased huddling. Additionally, no differences were found in trappability, home range sizes, body weight, and survival days between Shank3 mutant and wild-type voles. Our results partially supported the laboratory findings of social deficits in Shank3 mutant female voles, but the underlying mechanisms may differ in natural settings. Overall, our study demonstrates the potential of bio-logging technology for studying animal behavior in complex ecological contexts and highlights the need for further research to understand the interplay of genetic and environmental factors shaping individual behavior.