Histological, chemical and behavioural evidence of pedal communication in brown bears

Abstract Most mammals rely upon scent for intraspecific communication. As most bear species have large home ranges and are non-territorial, scent deposit while walking could be an effective way to communicate with conspecifics. Here, we investigate the existence of pedal glands in brown bears and th...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Agnieszka Sergiel, Javier Naves, Piotr Kujawski, Robert Maślak, Ewa Serwa, Damián Ramos, Alberto Fernández-Gil, Eloy Revilla, Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica, Filip Zięba, Johanna Painer, Nuria Selva
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:
R
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/e884593cb1084d85ac34b08836a6d3b3
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:e884593cb1084d85ac34b08836a6d3b3
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:e884593cb1084d85ac34b08836a6d3b32021-12-02T12:31:49ZHistological, chemical and behavioural evidence of pedal communication in brown bears10.1038/s41598-017-01136-12045-2322https://doaj.org/article/e884593cb1084d85ac34b08836a6d3b32017-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-01136-1https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Most mammals rely upon scent for intraspecific communication. As most bear species have large home ranges and are non-territorial, scent deposit while walking could be an effective way to communicate with conspecifics. Here, we investigate the existence of pedal glands in brown bears and their role in chemical communication from a histological, biochemical and behavioural perspective. We found eccrine glands in footpads, and prominent apocrine and sebaceous glands in the interdigital, metacarpal and metatarsal skin sections. Pedal scent contained 26 compounds including carboxylic acids, important constituents of mammalian secretions. Six of these compounds were exclusive for males. Finally, we describe a specific marking gait recorded in the field, mostly performed by males. Our study supports the existence of chemical communication through pedal marking in brown bears and suggests sex-coding potential of pedal scent.Agnieszka SergielJavier NavesPiotr KujawskiRobert MaślakEwa SerwaDamián RamosAlberto Fernández-GilEloy RevillaTomasz Zwijacz-KozicaFilip ZiębaJohanna PainerNuria SelvaNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2017)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
Agnieszka Sergiel
Javier Naves
Piotr Kujawski
Robert Maślak
Ewa Serwa
Damián Ramos
Alberto Fernández-Gil
Eloy Revilla
Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica
Filip Zięba
Johanna Painer
Nuria Selva
Histological, chemical and behavioural evidence of pedal communication in brown bears
description Abstract Most mammals rely upon scent for intraspecific communication. As most bear species have large home ranges and are non-territorial, scent deposit while walking could be an effective way to communicate with conspecifics. Here, we investigate the existence of pedal glands in brown bears and their role in chemical communication from a histological, biochemical and behavioural perspective. We found eccrine glands in footpads, and prominent apocrine and sebaceous glands in the interdigital, metacarpal and metatarsal skin sections. Pedal scent contained 26 compounds including carboxylic acids, important constituents of mammalian secretions. Six of these compounds were exclusive for males. Finally, we describe a specific marking gait recorded in the field, mostly performed by males. Our study supports the existence of chemical communication through pedal marking in brown bears and suggests sex-coding potential of pedal scent.
format article
author Agnieszka Sergiel
Javier Naves
Piotr Kujawski
Robert Maślak
Ewa Serwa
Damián Ramos
Alberto Fernández-Gil
Eloy Revilla
Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica
Filip Zięba
Johanna Painer
Nuria Selva
author_facet Agnieszka Sergiel
Javier Naves
Piotr Kujawski
Robert Maślak
Ewa Serwa
Damián Ramos
Alberto Fernández-Gil
Eloy Revilla
Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica
Filip Zięba
Johanna Painer
Nuria Selva
author_sort Agnieszka Sergiel
title Histological, chemical and behavioural evidence of pedal communication in brown bears
title_short Histological, chemical and behavioural evidence of pedal communication in brown bears
title_full Histological, chemical and behavioural evidence of pedal communication in brown bears
title_fullStr Histological, chemical and behavioural evidence of pedal communication in brown bears
title_full_unstemmed Histological, chemical and behavioural evidence of pedal communication in brown bears
title_sort histological, chemical and behavioural evidence of pedal communication in brown bears
publisher Nature Portfolio
publishDate 2017
url https://doaj.org/article/e884593cb1084d85ac34b08836a6d3b3
work_keys_str_mv AT agnieszkasergiel histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT javiernaves histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT piotrkujawski histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT robertmaslak histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT ewaserwa histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT damianramos histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT albertofernandezgil histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT eloyrevilla histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT tomaszzwijaczkozica histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT filipzieba histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT johannapainer histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
AT nuriaselva histologicalchemicalandbehaviouralevidenceofpedalcommunicationinbrownbears
_version_ 1718394311563804672