| Title: | Seasonal and reproductive variation in chemical constituents of scent signals in wild giant pandas |
| Author(s): | Zhou W; Nie Y; Hu Y; Swaisgood RR; Zhang Y; Liu D; Wei F; |
| Address: | "Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China. Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global, San Diego, CA, 92027-7000, USA. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. dzliu@bnu.edu.cn. CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China. weifw@ioz.ac.cn. Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650223, China. weifw@ioz.ac.cn. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. weifw@ioz.ac.cn" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11427-018-9388-9 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1869-1889 (Electronic) 1674-7305 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Seasonally reproducing animals show many behavioral and physiological changes during the mating period, including increased signaling for intrasexual competition and mate attraction. We collected 102 anogenital gland secretions (AGS) from marking trees in Foping Nature Reserve, and used gas chromatography mass spectrometry analyze these chemical composition. Of these marks, all but one were from males, confirmed with DNA analysis. We found that several chemical constituents, especially volatile compounds, is present only during the mating season and that the relative abundance of many compounds changed as a function of breeding season, whereas nonvolatile compounds were lower in the mating season. This seasonal variation in chemical composition of AGS most likely plays an important role in governing giant panda reproduction, including mate location, attraction, and male-male competition. The chemical properties of many of these putative chemosignals-such as volatility and longevity-are suggestive of these roles, and undoubtedly contribute to successful reproduction for this species with a characteristically sophisticated chemical communication system. We also found a number of important differences between the chemical constituents of AGS from wild pandas and those found in previous studies with captive pandas, suggesting that inappropriate chemosignal composition may contribute to poor reproductive success in captive breeding programs" |
| Keywords: | "Animal Communication Animals Breeding Female Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Male Odorants/*analysis Pheromones/*analysis/*metabolism Reproduction Scent Glands/*metabolism Seasons Sex Characteristics Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology Ursidae anogeni;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineZhou, Wenliang Nie, Yonggang Hu, Yibo Swaisgood, Ronald R Zhang, Yaohua Liu, Dingzhen Wei, Fuwen eng China 2019/01/24 Sci China Life Sci. 2019 May; 62(5):648-660. doi: 10.1007/s11427-018-9388-9. Epub 2019 Jan 21" |
