Study of chemical communication based on urine in tree shrews Tupaia belangeri (Mammalia: Scandentia: Tupaiidae)

Abstract

Chemical communication plays a key role in mammalian reproductive and social behaviour. The chemical constituents of urine are the main signal resource that can encode sex, quality and social status. In order to investigate the role of urine in the reproductive biology of Tupaia belangeri, the volatile components of urine were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the behaviour of the tree shrew in response to urinary odour was investigated in a Y-maze test. The results show that hydrocarbons were the major components of urine in wild, acclimated and laboratory-breeding animals. The concentrations of the chemical components in urine from individuals in the wild population were higher than those in the acclimated and breeding animals. Tupaia belangeri showed significant differences in reactions of individuals and urinary odour. Males and females had different components in their urine. The stay duration of male tree shrews to the urinary odour of females in oestrus or lactating was significantly longer than that to the odour of pregnant females. The chemical components were different at different reproductive stages. Taken together, these results suggest that the odour of urine can encode female reproductive status and gender. Tupaia belangeri relies on these odours to recognise sex and choose a mate. Chemical communication based on signals in urine plays an important role in the reproduction of T. belangeri.