Effects of olfactory bulbectomy on social behavior of male guinea pigs (Cavia procellus).

Effects of olfactory bulbectomy on social behavior in male guinea pigs were studied. Both brief-exposure pairing techniques and a group-living observation period were employed to test for disruption. During short-term testing sessions bulbectomized animals courted females less than but mounted them as frequently as control subjects. While the groups did not differ in fighting behavior during short-term tests, control subjects scent-marked more frequently. Subsequently, animals were observed as same-treatment pairs living continuously with females, and behavior was sampled over a 3-wk period. Under these conditions bulbectomized males, unlike controls, failed to form dominance orders, exhibited virtually no intermale aggressive activity, had markedly depressed sexual activity, and scent-marked rarely. It is concluded that olfactory bulbectomy profoundly alters the behavior of male domestic guinea pigs and that hose alterations are most evident when experimental subjects are observed in a species-typical group-living environment.