« Previous Abstract"Shk1, a homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ste20 and mammalian p65PAK protein kinases, is a component of a Ras/Cdc42 signaling module in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe"    Next Abstract"ORDB, HORDE, ODORactor and other on-line knowledge resources of olfactory receptor-odorant interactions" »

Chem Senses

Title:		"Species, gender, and identity: cracking petrels' sociochemical code"
Author(s):		Mardon J; Saunders SM; Anderson MJ; Couchoux C; Bonadonna F;
Address:		"Department of Population Biology, Behavioural Ecology Group, Centre d'Ecologie Fontcionnelle et Evolutive - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, France. jerome.mardon@cefe.cnrs.fr"
Journal Title:		Chem Senses
Year:		2010
Volume:		20100226
Issue:		4
Page Number:		309 - 321
DOI:		10.1093/chemse/bjq021
ISSN/ISBN:		1464-3553 (Electronic) 0379-864X (Linking)
Abstract:		"Avian chemosignaling remains relatively unexplored, but its potential importance in birds' social behaviors is becoming recognized. Procellariiform seabirds provide particularly appropriate models for investigating these topics as they possess a well-developed olfactory system and unequalled associated capabilities. We present here results from a detailed chemical examination of the uropygial secretions (the main source of avian exogenous chemicals) from 2 petrel species, Antarctic prions and blue petrels. Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques and recently developed multivariate tools, we demonstrate that the secretions contain critical socioecological information such as species, gender, and individual identity. Importantly, these chemosignals correlate with some of the birds' olfactory behaviors demonstrated in the field. The molecules found to be associated with social information were essentially large unsaturated compounds, suggesting that these may be precursors of, or correlates to the actual airborne signals. Although the species-specific chemosignal may be involved in interspecific competition at the breeding grounds, the role of the sexually specific chemosignal remains unclear. The existence of individually specific signals (i.e., chemical signatures) in these birds has important implications for processes such as individual recognition and genetically based mate choice already suspected for this group. Our results open promising avenues of research for the study of avian chemical communication"
Keywords:		"Animal Communication Animals Behavior, Animal Birds/*physiology Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Pheromones/*physiology Sex Attractants/chemistry/physiology Sex Factors Species Specificity;"
Notes:		"MedlineMardon, Jerome Saunders, Sandra M Anderson, Marti J Couchoux, Charline Bonadonna, Francesco eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2010/03/02 Chem Senses. 2010 May; 35(4):309-21. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjq021. Epub 2010 Feb 26"