Potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers
Mammals scent mark their territories to advertise occupancy and ownership. However, signaling with scent for territorial defense can have a negative effect by advertising an individual’s presence and location to predators. In this study, we measured responses to a simulated territorial intrusion by...
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ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.575.6836 2023-05-15T15:50:54+02:00 Potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers Frank Rosella Jørn Ingar S The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.575.6836 en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.575.6836 Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. https://teora.hit.no/bitstream/handle/2282/537/Potential_risks.pdf;jsessionid=53306CFC34EF332658FCDA477656D0E9?sequence=1 text ftciteseerx 2016-01-08T12:44:37Z Mammals scent mark their territories to advertise occupancy and ownership. However, signaling with scent for territorial defense can have a negative effect by advertising an individual’s presence and location to predators. In this study, we measured responses to a simulated territorial intrusion by conspecific adult male Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) either in the localized presence or in the absence of odor of a predator to test the hypothesis that the territorial defense of free-living beavers would be disrupted by the presence of predation risk in their natural environment. We predicted that beavers would significantly reduce their willing-ness to countermark intruder’s scent in the presence of the scent of predators (wolf [Canis lupus] and lynx [Lynx lynx]), com-pared with a control (no odor), as responses are in general stronger to predator scent marks than nonpredator scent. Therefore, we also predicted that the effects of nonpredatory mammal scent (neophobic control) (eland [Taurotragus oryx] and horse [Equus cabalus]) are to be expected somewhere in between the effects of the predator odor and a control. Our results suggest that both predator and nonpredator scents reduce beavers response to a simulated intruder’s scent mounds and therefore disrupt their territorial defense. However, predator scent had a stronger effect than nonpredator scent. Beavers may therefore be at great risk on territories with predators present because of the trade-off between predator avoidance and territorial defense. Our study demonstrates the potential of predation risk as a powerful agent of counterselection on olfactory signaling behavior. Key words: Castor fiber, chemical communication, predation risk, scent marking, signals, territorial. [Behav Ecol] Territories allow their owners exclusive access to criticallylimiting resources and are thus, in territorial species, an es- Text Canis lupus Lynx Lynx lynx lynx Unknown |
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English |
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Mammals scent mark their territories to advertise occupancy and ownership. However, signaling with scent for territorial defense can have a negative effect by advertising an individual’s presence and location to predators. In this study, we measured responses to a simulated territorial intrusion by conspecific adult male Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) either in the localized presence or in the absence of odor of a predator to test the hypothesis that the territorial defense of free-living beavers would be disrupted by the presence of predation risk in their natural environment. We predicted that beavers would significantly reduce their willing-ness to countermark intruder’s scent in the presence of the scent of predators (wolf [Canis lupus] and lynx [Lynx lynx]), com-pared with a control (no odor), as responses are in general stronger to predator scent marks than nonpredator scent. Therefore, we also predicted that the effects of nonpredatory mammal scent (neophobic control) (eland [Taurotragus oryx] and horse [Equus cabalus]) are to be expected somewhere in between the effects of the predator odor and a control. Our results suggest that both predator and nonpredator scents reduce beavers response to a simulated intruder’s scent mounds and therefore disrupt their territorial defense. However, predator scent had a stronger effect than nonpredator scent. Beavers may therefore be at great risk on territories with predators present because of the trade-off between predator avoidance and territorial defense. Our study demonstrates the potential of predation risk as a powerful agent of counterselection on olfactory signaling behavior. Key words: Castor fiber, chemical communication, predation risk, scent marking, signals, territorial. [Behav Ecol] Territories allow their owners exclusive access to criticallylimiting resources and are thus, in territorial species, an es- |
author2 |
The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
format |
Text |
author |
Frank Rosella Jørn Ingar S |
spellingShingle |
Frank Rosella Jørn Ingar S Potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers |
author_facet |
Frank Rosella Jørn Ingar S |
author_sort |
Frank Rosella |
title |
Potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers |
title_short |
Potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers |
title_full |
Potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers |
title_fullStr |
Potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers |
title_full_unstemmed |
Potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers |
title_sort |
potential risks of olfactory signaling: the effect of predators on scent marking by beavers |
url |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.575.6836 |
genre |
Canis lupus Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
op_source |
https://teora.hit.no/bitstream/handle/2282/537/Potential_risks.pdf;jsessionid=53306CFC34EF332658FCDA477656D0E9?sequence=1 |
op_relation |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.575.6836 |
op_rights |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
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1766385923785752576 |