Anal Gland Secretion Codes for Relatedness in the Beaver, Castor canadensis

Document Type

Article

Department or Administrative Unit

Biological Sciences

Publication Date

11-1998

Abstract

We investigated how information about relatedness is coded in the anal gland secretion (AGS) of the beaver (Castor canadensis). Using gas chromatography, we found that individual secretion profiles did not change over time and location of the beaver and the variation in the AGS profile was smaller within an individual than between individuals. Therefore, the AGS is suitable for characterizing individuality. We also found that related individuals shared more features in the AGS profile than did unrelated individuals. Hence, information about kinship can be coded in the AGS profile. These findings substantiate the behavioral kin recognition system using the mechanism of phenotype matching in the beaver.

Comments

This article was originally published in Ethology. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.

Due to copyright restrictions, this article is not available for free download through ScholarWorks.

Journal

Ethology

Copyright

Copyright © Wiley 1998

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