|
Variations in colour and volume of the subcaudal gland secretion of
badgers
Journal
Mammalian Biology,
Volume 67,Number 3, 1 May 2002, pp. 147-156(10)
Urban & Fischer
Authors
Buesching C.D.; Newman C.; Macdonald D.W.
Abstract
Activity of scent glands is often related to an
animal's biological status. Here we investigate how endogenous
parameters influence activity of the subcaudal gland tissue in badgers. The large subcaudal glands produce a lipid-rich
secretion which badgers frequently use for scent-marking. Earlier
studies suggest that the smell of this subcaudal secretion is
individual-specific and encodes information about group membership, but
does not contain further information about individual-specific
parameters (sex, age, body condition etc.). In this study the colour and
volume of 975 subcaudal secretion samples collected between January 1996
and January 1999 were investigated and analysed in relation to sex,
endocrinological and reproductive status, age, head body length and body
condition of the badgers, and seasonality. The analyses show a distinct
seasonal pattern, a significant sex difference in the secretion's colour
and volume, apparent throughout the year, and a strong influence of
individual-specific parameters on the characteristics of the secretion.
Thus, we conclude that the subcaudal secretion of the European badger
could communicate more information about the marking individual than
previously assumed. We propose that the function of subcaudal
scent-marking is likely to be two-fold, to provide information about
territory occupancy to non-group members at the periphery of territories
and to act as an intra-group communication signal in the vicinity of the
sett.
Keywords
Meles meles; Mustelidae; scent-marking; secretion;
communication
Web site
|