Search results for "CHEMICAL COMMUNICATION"

The mammary pheromone of the rabbit: from where does it come?

2005

Newborn rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, are directed to their mother's nipples by specialized odour cues. Previous investigations have suggested that these cues are released from the doe's abdominal surface from structures located around the nipple. We tested pups with samples of various cutaneous tissues or fluids collected from lactating females to determine the location of the source of the odour cues. After finding that the nipples from lactating does were more attractive than those of virgin females, we conducted three experiments using skin samples collected at increasing distance from the nipples, dermal and mammary tissues taken below the nipples, and milk collected at different lev…

The effect of scents on the territorial and aggressive behaviour of laboratory rats

1992

The majority of works found in the literature mention odours as an important factor in the development of social lines and the unleashing of aggressive behaviour, but very few authors have studied more deeply the role that these odours play, how they influence behaviour and what importance the variations of these marks of identity may have. In the present work we analyse social relations presented by laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus, Wistar breed) in seminatural conditions, with special reference to behaviours of dominance, territorialism and aggressiveness, and the importance that these marks of odour play on these behaviours. For this purpose, different individuals (from the established…

Interactions between oxidative stress and attractiveness to mates and individual mate choice in the beetle Tenebrio molitor

2020

Changes of species specific cuticular hydrocarbon profiles in the cockroaches Nauphoeta cinerea and Leucophaea maderae reared in heterospecific groups

1997

0013-8703 (Print) 1570-7458 (Online); The cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of the cockroaches Nauphoeta cinerea and Leucophaea maderae are species-specific when maintained in homospecific rearings. When individuals were reared in mixed species colonies, they initially remained in homospecific groups under different shelters. However, after 14 days they formed one heterospecific group with cuticular profiles showing characteristics of both species. When individuals were returned in monospecific rearings, their cuticular hydrocarbon profiles returned to species-specific ones within 3 weeks.

Early development of filial preferences in the rabbit: implications of nursing- and pheromone-induced odour learning?

2008

Newborn rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus, discriminate between different categories of adult conspecifics on the basis of their abdominal odour cues. Whether these cues can support the development of filial preferences has not been adequately tested. Using a two-choice paradigm, we assessed the ability of 3–8-day-old pups to orient selectively to the mother versus an unfamiliar female, either spontaneously or after odour conditioning. In experiment 1, nonconditioned pups roamed indifferently over the mother and an unfamiliar female. In experiment 2, pups conditioned to a neutral odorant while nursing or with the mammary pheromone became attracted by the odorant. In experiment 3, pups that had…

Chemosensory assessment of rival competitive ability and scent-mark function in a lizard, Podarcis hispanica

2007

Recent studies have stressed the role of scent marks as signals potentially mediating competitor assessment. According to this view, receivers may use scent marks to derive information about the costs of exploiting a given area, but few studies have directly addressed this hypothesis. One of its main predictions is that scent marks should reflect a signaller's competitive ability. We simulated the situation faced by an intruding male when entering the scent-marked territories of rival males of varying competitive ability to test predictions about the role of scent marks in a lizard, Podarcis hispanica. We report that males were attracted to areas marked by males of similar or higher competi…

Towards chemical communication between gated nanoparticles.

2014

The design of comparatively simple and modularly configurable artificial systems able to communicate through the exchange of chemical messengers is, to the best of our knowledge, an unexplored field. As a proof-of-concept, we present here a family of nanoparticles that have been designed to communicate with one another in a hierarchical manner. The concept involves the use of capped mesoporous silica supports in which the messenger delivered by a first type of gated nanoparticle is used to open a second type of nanoparticle, which delivers another messenger that opens a third group of gated nanoobjects.We believe that the conceptual idea that nanodevices can be designed to communicate with …

Chemosensory assessment of sperm competition levels and the evolution of internal spermatophore guarding

2006

Males of many species adjust their reproductive behaviour according to the perceived risk of sperm competition. Although this phenomenon is widespread in insects and other animals, the mechanisms that allow mates to assess sperm competition levels remain largely unexplored. In this study, we analysed the mating behaviour of pairs ofTenebrio molitorbeetles under three odour treatments representing increasing levels of sperm competition risk (SCR) and sperm competition intensity (SCI). Copula duration and male and female post-copulatory behaviour varied significantly with odour treatment. Both copula duration and post-copulatory associations (PCAs) increased significantly in odour treatments …

Lasius niger ants discriminate aphids based on their cuticular hydrocarbons

2011

Mutualistic interactions between organisms depend on the ability of each partner to recognize the other. In ant–aphid mutualisms, ants have to recognize whether an aphid colony is worth tending. Many aphid species can live in mutualistic associations with ants (trophobiosis), whereas others are never tended and are frequently preyed upon by ants. Since aphids often produce low amounts of honeydew when not tended by ants, the ants should be able to recognize potential trophobionts based on signals other than honeydew. Conversely, aphids should signal if they are potential trophobionts. We investigated whether ants recognize potential trophobiont aphids based on their behaviour, morphological…

Lipocalins in Arthropod Chemical Communication.

2021

Abstract Lipocalins represent one of the most successful superfamilies of proteins. Most of them are extracellular carriers for hydrophobic ligands across aqueous media, but other functions have been reported. They are present in most living organisms including bacteria. In animals they have been identified in mammals, molluscs, and arthropods; sequences have also been reported for plants. A subgroup of lipocalins, referred to as odorant-binding proteins (OBPs), mediate chemical communication in mammals by ferrying specific pheromones to the vomeronasal organ. So far, these proteins have not been reported as carriers of semiochemicals in other living organisms; instead chemical communicatio…