Prairie Vole Empathy - Annotated Bibliography

Demas, Gregory, and Jasnow, Aaron. Empathy in prairie voles: Is this the consolation prize? Learning & Behavior, 2016.

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Demas and Jasnow conduct a study to identify any existing empathy in prairie voles and if it can be viewed as a consolation prize. The study demonstrated that prairie voles greatly increased partner-directed grooming towards familiar animals, but not strangers that were initially experienced as stressors unobserved by the test animal. The auditory Pavlovian fear conditioning test was used to examine the emotional contagion while the state matching was examined by corticosterone responses of observers and demonstrators under several conditions. The results suggest homology in the neurobiological mechanisms that control consolation behavior across mammalian species (Demas and Jasnow). To conclude, the study supports the idea that voles and other social animals are capable of what can be considered "affective empathy."

Klatt, Brian, Getz, Lowell, & McGuire, Betty. Interspecific interactions and habitat use by prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and Meadow voles (M. pennsylvanicus). American Midland Naturalist, 2015.

Klatt, Getz, and McGuire examine the effects of interspecific interactions on habitat use by Prairie voles and meadow voles, the two species that co-occur in grass habitats in east-central Illinois but differ in their tolerance of sparse cover. They used a species-removal method in open populations, a species-addition method in enclosed populations, and dyadic encounters in the field, using mown and unmown grass areas, and in the laboratory. Klatt, Getz, and McGuire found greater tolerance of sparse cover by prairie voles than meadow voles in enclosures. The dominance relationships were consistent with the known social systems of the two species and confirm the differences between the prairie voles and Meadow Voles intolerance for sparse cover.

Owen, Malory, Lambert, Connor, Keane, Brian, and Solomon, Nancy. Influence of vegetation characteristics at and near nests on female prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) survival and reproductive success. American Midland Naturalist, 2019.

Owen, Lambert, Keane, and Solomon analyzed the vegetation associated with nests of prairie voles living in 0.1 ha outdoor enclosures and how they differed from plants at randomly selected locations. The study utilized two sets of enclosures that were encircled by an electric wire to exclude mammalian predators. Radio-telemetry was used to locate female nests which were tracked 1-10 times daily between 1100h and 1700h up to 5days a week. The results indicate that the number of pups produced per nest was not related to the vegetation near the nests but increased with increasing thorny vegetation within the enclosures. Therefore, fitness consequences result from vegetation near the nests and on a larger spatial scale surrounding the nest could highly influence the site of the nest and selection in the prairie voles.

Works Cited

Demas, Gregory, and Jasnow, Aaron. Empathy in prairie voles: Is this the consolation prize? Learning & Behavior, 2016.

Klatt, Brian, Getz, Lowell, & McGuire, Betty. Interspecific interactions and habitat use by prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and Meadow voles (M. pennsylvanicus). American Midland Naturalist, 2015.

Owen, Malory, Lambert, Connor, Keane, Brian, and Solomon, Nancy. Influence of vegetation characteristics at and near nests on female prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) survival and reproductive success. American Midland Naturalist, 2019.