Abstract
During the mating season, Iberian red deer males (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) present a large visible dark ventral area in their abdomen. This characteristic dark-haired area is formed by the impregnation of the hair with sprayed urine and gland secretions and contains volatile compounds that can be used in intraspecific communication. Here, we used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to describe the lipophilic chemicals from the dark ventral patch of males from different populations with different levels of intrasexual competition. Amongst all the compounds found, m-cresol, benzoic acid, cholesterol and 4-hydroxy-benzenopropanoic acid were the most abundant. The proportions of these compounds varied with age as well as with the level of intra-sexual competition, independently of age. In particular, red deer males experiencing higher intra-sexual competition had lower proportions of aromatic compounds (especially m-cresol) but higher proportions of carboxylic acids on their dark bellies. Males in a high male-male competition situation, invest in volatile compounds that can reveal their age, dominance status and condition, and that, in addition, enhance this signal. On the contrary, males from low intra-sexual competition populations have chemical profiles more characteristic of young individuals. This research shows a first glance of how secretion of volatile compounds of male deer can be modulated due to the intensity of male-male competition in the population.
Highlights
Communication is considered as the process by which the sender uses signals or carries out displays that are specially intended to modify the behaviour of the receivers [1]
We found a total of 67 compounds in the dark ventral patch of hair of 84 sampled Iberian red deer males (Table 1)
The PERMANOVA based on the matrix of similarities that compared the relative proportion of compounds found in deer’s hair showed that there were significant differences between the chemical profiles of individuals directly related to their age (Pseudo F2,85 = 3.39, P = 0.001)
Summary
Communication is considered as the process by which the sender uses signals or carries out displays that are specially intended to modify the behaviour of the receivers [1]. Signals evolve through a kind of selection that maximizes the effectiveness in changing the receiver’s behaviour [1,2]. Given the limitations of different environments, animals should base their communication in different sensory channels [3]. Chemical signals play an important role in intraspecific communication of many animals [4,5]. The usefulness of chemical signals lies on their tenacity; once the signal is transmitted, the information remains in the environment even though the emitter has gone away.
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