Olfactory sex recognition investigated in Antarctic prions.
Chemical signals can yield information about an animal such as its identity, social status or sex. Such signals have rarely been considered in birds, but recent results have shown that chemical signals are actually used by different bird species to find food and to recognize their home and nest. Thi...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2009-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2607551?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1819268302301560832 |
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| author | Francesco Bonadonna Samuel P Caro M de L Brooke |
| author_facet | Francesco Bonadonna Samuel P Caro M de L Brooke |
| author_sort | Francesco Bonadonna |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Chemical signals can yield information about an animal such as its identity, social status or sex. Such signals have rarely been considered in birds, but recent results have shown that chemical signals are actually used by different bird species to find food and to recognize their home and nest. This is particularly true in petrels whose olfactory anatomy is among the most developed in birds. Recently, we have demonstrated that Antarctic prions, Pachyptila desolata, are also able to recognize and follow the odour of their partner in a Y-maze.However, the experimental protocol left unclear whether this choice reflected an olfactory recognition of a particular individual (i.e. partner) or a more general sex recognition mechanism. To test this second hypothesis, male and female birds' odours were presented simultaneously to 54 Antarctic prions in a Y-maze. Results showed random behaviour by the tested bird, independent of its sex or reproductive status. Present results do not support the possibility that Antarctic prions can distinguish the sex of a conspecific through its odour but indirectly support the hypothesis that they can distinguish individual odours. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T21:30:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b742ae2c66b24880b29ff953570d6dfd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T21:30:54Z |
| publishDate | 2009-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-b742ae2c66b24880b29ff953570d6dfd2022-12-21T17:30:28ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032009-01-0141e414810.1371/journal.pone.0004148Olfactory sex recognition investigated in Antarctic prions.Francesco BonadonnaSamuel P CaroM de L BrookeChemical signals can yield information about an animal such as its identity, social status or sex. Such signals have rarely been considered in birds, but recent results have shown that chemical signals are actually used by different bird species to find food and to recognize their home and nest. This is particularly true in petrels whose olfactory anatomy is among the most developed in birds. Recently, we have demonstrated that Antarctic prions, Pachyptila desolata, are also able to recognize and follow the odour of their partner in a Y-maze.However, the experimental protocol left unclear whether this choice reflected an olfactory recognition of a particular individual (i.e. partner) or a more general sex recognition mechanism. To test this second hypothesis, male and female birds' odours were presented simultaneously to 54 Antarctic prions in a Y-maze. Results showed random behaviour by the tested bird, independent of its sex or reproductive status. Present results do not support the possibility that Antarctic prions can distinguish the sex of a conspecific through its odour but indirectly support the hypothesis that they can distinguish individual odours.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2607551?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Francesco Bonadonna Samuel P Caro M de L Brooke Olfactory sex recognition investigated in Antarctic prions. PLoS ONE |
| title | Olfactory sex recognition investigated in Antarctic prions. |
| title_full | Olfactory sex recognition investigated in Antarctic prions. |
| title_fullStr | Olfactory sex recognition investigated in Antarctic prions. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Olfactory sex recognition investigated in Antarctic prions. |
| title_short | Olfactory sex recognition investigated in Antarctic prions. |
| title_sort | olfactory sex recognition investigated in antarctic prions |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2607551?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT francescobonadonna olfactorysexrecognitioninvestigatedinantarcticprions AT samuelpcaro olfactorysexrecognitioninvestigatedinantarcticprions AT mdelbrooke olfactorysexrecognitioninvestigatedinantarcticprions |