Editing Brown rat (section)

=== Mating behaviors ===
Males can ejaculate multiple times in a row, and this increases the likelihood of pregnancy as well as decreases the number of stillborns.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Davis|first1=H.N. |last2=Connor|first2=J.R. |name-list-style=amp |year=1980 |title=Brief Report: Male modulation of female reproductive physiology in Norway rats: effects of mating during postpartum estrus |journal=Behavioral and Neural Biology|volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=128–131 |doi=10.1016/s0163-1047(80)92582-0|pmid=7387582}}</ref> Multiple ejaculation also means that males can mate with multiple females, and they exhibit more ejaculatory series when there are several oestrous females present.<ref name=":5" /> Males also copulate at shorter intervals than females.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=McClintock|first1=M.K. |last2=Anisko|first2=J.J. |name-list-style=amp |year=1982 |title=Group mating among Norway rats I. Sex differences in the pattern and neuroendocrine consequences of copulation|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=30 |issue=2|pages=398–409|doi=10.1016/s0003-3472(82)80051-1|s2cid=53201526}}</ref> In group mating, females often switch partners.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=McClintock|first1=M.K. |last2=Anisko|first2=J.J. |last3=Adler|first3=N.T. |name-list-style=amp |year=1982 |title=Group mating among Norway rats II. The social dynamics of copulation: Competition, cooperation, and mate choice|journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=410–425 |doi=10.1016/s0003-3472(82)80052-3 |s2cid=53145394}}</ref>

Dominant males have higher mating success and also provide females with more ejaculate, and females are more likely to use the sperm of dominant males for fertilization.<ref name=":2" />

In mating, female rats show a clear mating preference for unknown males versus males that they have already mated with (also known as the [[Coolidge effect]]), and will often resume copulatory behavior when introduced to a novel sexual partner.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Ventura-Aquino|first1=E. |name-list-style=amp |last2=Banos-Araujo|first2=J. |last3=Fernandez-Guasti|first3=A. |last4=Parades|first4=R.G. |year=2016|title=An unknown male increases sexual incentive motivation and partner preference: Further evidence for the Coolidge effect in female rats |journal=Physiology & Behavior|volume=158|pages=54–59 |doi=10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.02.026 |pmid=26902417 |s2cid=7695527}}</ref>

Females also prefer to mate with males who have not experienced [[social stress]] during adolescence, and can determine which males were stressed even without any observed difference in sexual performance of males experiencing stress during adolescence and not.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=McCormick|first1=C.M. |last2=Cameron|first2=C.M. |name-list-style=amp |last3=Thompson|first3=M.A. |last4=Cumming|first4=M.J. |last5=Hodges|first5=T.E. |last6=Langett|first6=M. |year=2017|title=The sexual preference of female rats is influenced by males' adolescent social stress history and social status|journal=Hormones and Behavior |volume=89 |pages=30–37|doi=10.1016/j.yhbeh.2016.12.001|pmid=27956227|s2cid=4228451}}</ref>