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J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol

Title:		Pheromones in birds: myth or reality?
Author(s):		Caro SP; Balthazart J;
Address:		"Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA"
Journal Title:		J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol
Year:		2010
Volume:		20100521
Issue:		10
Page Number:		751 - 766
DOI:		10.1007/s00359-010-0534-4
ISSN/ISBN:		1432-1351 (Electronic) 0340-7594 (Print) 0340-7594 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Birds are anosmic or at best microsmatic... This misbelief persisted until very recently and has strongly influenced the outcome of communication studies in birds, with olfaction remaining neglected as compared to acoustic and visual channels. However, there is now clear empirical evidence showing that olfaction is perfectly functional in birds and birds use olfactory information in a variety of ethological contexts. Although the existence of pheromones has never been formally demonstrated in this vertebrate class, different groups of birds, such as petrels, auklets and ducks have been shown to produce specific scents that could play a significant role in within-species social interactions. Behavioral experiments have indeed demonstrated that these odors influence the behavior of conspecifics. Additionally, in quail, deprivation of olfactory inputs decreases neuronal activation induced by sexual interactions with a female. It seems therefore well established that birds enjoy a functional sense of smell and a fast growing body of experimental evidence suggests that they use this channel of olfactory communication to control their social life. The unequivocal identification of an avian pheromone is, however, still ahead of us but there are now many exciting opportunities to unravel the behavioral and physiological particularities of chemical communication in birds"
Keywords:		"Animal Communication Animals Behavior, Animal/*physiology Birds/*physiology Pheromones/*physiology Sex Attractants/physiology Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology Species Specificity;"
Notes:		"MedlineCaro, Samuel P Balthazart, Jacques eng R01 MH050388/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ R01 NIH/MH50388/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ Comparative Study Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Review Germany 2010/05/22 J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2010 Oct; 196(10):751-66. doi: 10.1007/s00359-010-0534-4. Epub 2010 May 21"