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J Chem Ecol

Title:		Chemical signals of elephant musth: temporal aspects of microbially-mediated modifications
Author(s):		Goodwin TE; Broederdorf LJ; Burkert BA; Hirwa IH; Mark DB; Waldrip ZJ; Kopper RA; Sutherland MV; Freeman EW; Hollister-Smith JA; Schulte BA;
Address:		"Department of Chemistry, Hendrix College, Conway, AR 72032, USA. goodwin@hendrix.edu"
Journal Title:		J Chem Ecol
Year:		2012
Volume:		20120113
Issue:		1
Page Number:		81 - 87
DOI:		10.1007/s10886-011-0056-8
ISSN/ISBN:		1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Mature male African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants exhibit periodic episodes of musth, a state in which serum androgens are elevated, food intake typically decreases, aggressiveness often increases, and breeding success is enhanced. Urine is a common source of chemical signals in a variety of mammals. Elephants in musth dribble urine almost continuously for lengthy periods, suggesting that the chemicals in their urine may reveal their physiological condition to conspecifics. We investigated the volatile urinary chemicals in captive male elephants using automated solid phase dynamic extraction (SPDE) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We found higher levels of alkan-2-ones, alkan-2-ols, and some aromatic compounds in urine from males in musth than in urine from non-musth males or from females. Levels of ketones and alcohols increased as the urine aged, likely due to microbial metabolism of fatty acids. Protein-derived aromatic metabolites also increased in abundance after urination, likely due to microbial hydrolysis of hydrophilic conjugates. We suggest that microbes may play an important role in timed release of urinary semiochemicals during elephant musth"
Keywords:		"Alkanes/chemistry/urine Animals *Bacteria Behavior, Animal Centrifugation Elephants/*microbiology/*urine Female Male Pheromones/*urine Temperature Time Factors;"
Notes:		"MedlineGoodwin, Thomas E Broederdorf, Laura J Burkert, Blake A Hirwa, Innocent H Mark, Daniel B Waldrip, Zach J Kopper, Randall A Sutherland, Mark V Freeman, Elizabeth W Hollister-Smith, Julie A Schulte, Bruce A eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2012/01/17 J Chem Ecol. 2012 Jan; 38(1):81-7. doi: 10.1007/s10886-011-0056-8. Epub 2012 Jan 13"