Brown bears possess anal sacs and secretions may code for sex

Olfactory communication occurs in carnivores and many scent-mark with anal gland secretions (AGS), which contain a variety of information including sex-related cues. Currently, there is disagreement about whether bear species, other than the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca, possess anal glands or...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of zoology (1987) Vol. 283; no. 2; pp. 143 - 152
Main Authors:	Rosell, F, Jojola, S.M, Ingdal, K, Lassen, B.A, Swenson, J.E, Arnemo, J.M, Zedrosser, A
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-02-2011
Subjects:	analog coding Animal behavior Animal communication Animal reproduction Bears Chemical compounds Chromatography digital coding gas chromatography-mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry partial least squares regression sex difference Zoology
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Olfactory communication occurs in carnivores and many scent-mark with anal gland secretions (AGS), which contain a variety of information including sex-related cues. Currently, there is disagreement about whether bear species, other than the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca, possess anal glands or anal sacs. We documented anal sacs in brown bears Ursus arctos and analyzed AGS from 17 free-ranging, sexually mature individuals using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We hypothesized that brown bear AGS codes for sex, as it does in giant pandas, and predicted that AGS shows sex differences in gas chromatogram (GC) profiles, number of compounds, the digital and analog coding of chemical compounds, and color. We found 90 different compounds. Our results support the predictions that male and female AGS differs in GC, analog coding and possibly color. However, we found no significant difference between sexes in number of detected compounds or in the digital coding. Our results confirm that brown bears possess anal sacs, that secretions likely relay information about sex, and suggest other chemical information critical to the bears' social system is encoded in the AGS.
Bibliography:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2010.00754.x ArticleID:JZO754 ark:/67375/WNG-7QW1RZPZ-Q istex:F800DBFDCB5A10771F67535632A39A95D8DC69AF Editor: Günther Zupanc
ISSN:	0952-8369 1469-7998
DOI:	10.1111/j.1469-7998.2010.00754.x