Abstract
Scent marking is known to be related to dominance in mammals. Here we ask whether the isolated scent from the oral glands of woodchucks (Marmota monax) can advertise dominance. The scent of an individual was presented to a conspecific before the two met and could establish a dominance–subordination relationship. For all 19 dyads that would later express aggressive dominance, the individual pre-encounter rate of scent marking was the same no matter the sex, composition of the dyad, or the future status of the individual. However, when they were presented with scent marks of a conspecific (before meeting the marker), future subordinates marked the scent of future dominants more than vice versa (Mann–Whitney U-test, Z = 2.246, [Formula: see text]). The status of members of dyads was accurately predicted from the pre-encounter marking performance in 14 of the 19 dyads (χ2 = 3.368; 0.10 > p > 0.05). This suggests that scent, by itself, conveys information on the dyadic dominance status of an individual relative to the receiver of the olfactory signal.
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