| Title: | Bank vole alarm pheromone chemistry and effects in the field |
| Author(s): | Sievert T; Ylonen H; Blande JD; Saunier A; van der Hulst D; Ylonen O; Haapakoski M; |
| Address: | "Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Konnevesi Research Station, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyvaskyla, Finland. thorbjoern.sievert@gmx.net. Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Konnevesi Research Station, University of Jyvaskyla, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyvaskyla, Finland. Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland. Environmental Sciences Department, Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University, 6700 AA, Wageningen, Netherlands" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00442-021-04977-w |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1432-1939 (Electronic) 0029-8549 (Print) 0029-8549 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Chemical communication plays an important role in mammalian life history decisions. Animals send and receive information based on body odour secretions. Odour cues provide important social information on identity, kinship, sex, group membership or genetic quality. Recent findings show, that rodents alarm their conspecifics with danger-dependent body odours after encountering a predator. In this study, we aim to identify the chemistry of alarm pheromones (AP) in the bank vole, a common boreal rodent. Furthermore, the vole foraging efficiency under perceived fear was measured in a set of field experiments in large outdoor enclosures. During the analysis of bank vole odour by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, we identified that 1-octanol, 2-octanone, and one unknown compound as the most likely candidates to function as alarm signals. These compounds were independent of the vole's sex. In a field experiment, voles were foraging less, i.e. they were more afraid in the AP odour foraging trays during the first day, as the odour was fresh, than in the second day. This verified the short lasting effect of volatile APs. Our results clarified the chemistry of alarming body odour compounds in mammals, and enhanced our understanding of the ecological role of AP and chemical communication in mammals" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Arvicolinae Cues Fear Odorants *Pheromones Alarm pheromone Bank vole Mammalian body odour Predator-prey interactions; |
| Notes: | "MedlineSievert, Thorbjorn Ylonen, Hannu Blande, James D Saunier, Amelie van der Hulst, Dave Ylonen, Olga Haapakoski, Marko eng 288990/Academy of Finland/ Germany 2021/06/27 Oecologia. 2021 Jul; 196(3):667-677. doi: 10.1007/s00442-021-04977-w. Epub 2021 Jun 25" |
