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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2282/1202
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| Title: | Brown bears possess anal sacs and secretions may code for sex |
| Authors: | Rosell, Frank
Jojola, Susan M.
Ingdal, Kristian
Lassen, Bård Andreas
Swenson, Jon E.
Arnemo, Jon Martin
Zedrosser, Andreas |
| Issue Date: | 14-Sep-2010 |
| Abstract: | 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. |
| Keywords: | analog coding
digital coding
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
partial least squares regression
sex difference |
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Description: | The definitive version is available at onlinelibrary.wiley.com |
| Rights: | Copyright The Authors. All rights reserved |
| Bibliographic citation: | Rosell, F., Jojola. S.M., Ingdal, K., Lassen, B.A., Swenson, J.E., Arnemo, J.M. & Zedrosser, A. Brown bears possess anal sacs and secretions may code for sex. Journal of zoology 2011, 283(2), p. 143-152 |
| Appears in Collections: | Institutt for natur-, helse- og miljøvernfag
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