Lontra candensis, river otters, use their pheromones in a behavior commonly referred to as scent marking. River otters are semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals that live mainly in inland waterways, ponds, and lakes. They are most well-known for their playful antics, and they can be observed playing in their natural habitats throughout North America.1 Scent marking is a behavior that has been observed in several different animal species, particularly mammals, but for otters it is very strange. Otters are semi-aquatic, and aquatic animals usually do not partake in this behavior. There are many different hypotheses as to why otters demonstrate this behavior. Scent marking is only made possible by the molecule known as pheromones. These are the molecules that animals use for communication. Pheromones are from a subclass of semiochemicals, and this means that they are for use within a single species.2 Only conspecifics will pay attention to these scent marks. Pheromones are classified by their functions, and some examples of common pheromones are sex pheromones and aggregation pheromones. Mammals release their pheromones through specialized secretory glands that are located on their flanks, around their eyes, and from their anus. Pheromone or scent marking is one behavior that is exhibited by many different …show more content…
Male groups are the ones who use these areas as females and their pups tend to stay away from them. When males in a group are separated, they can use these marked areas to easily find each other again. It is hypothesized that these latrines are also a way to communicate the social status of males in a group.11 Also, it has been observed that males have a preference for the scent of a familiar male over the scent of a female. Groups of males tend to have very few sites, but these few sites will be very large. Nonsocial otters, who don’t tend to mark these sites, use them instead as a source of mutual
Most pheromone based perfumes marketed on the internet elicit their effect by affecting one or more gland in the body.
The sabertooth cat, also known by its scientific name Smilodon Fatalis, is considered a true form fossil. A fossil is considered a true form fossil when scientists recover fossils of the actual animal or animal part. These bones were oftentimes subjected to physical processes while still on the surface. These processes include heat, cold, wind and rain.
Mutualistic relationships occur between eagles and farmers when farmers begin to plant crops in their fields. When crops are planted, prey are attracted to the field to eat. Bald eagles will surround fields to prepare to eat the prey that come in. The eagle will eat the prey that are coming into the field benefiting it by providing energy to the bird, and the farmer benefits because his crops are protected and have the ability to
Two dolphins were exposed to a life size mirror for 36 hours over an 11-day period. On the 11th day, the dolphins were marked with white Zinc Oxide. The animals were already habituated with the marking procedure from previous sham marking to Neo Blue. One drawback of the experiment (besides the fact that there was a relatively small sample size) was the fact that the dolphins could feel the Zinc Oxide on their skin, and thus there was also tactile stimulation. All behaviors during the period were video taped and analyzed via a behavioral ethogram.
During the 19th century, Jean-Henri Fabre witnessed as the female emperor moth emerged from her cocoon, he placed the moth into a gauzy cage to see what might happen next. In the evening, a swarm of male emperor moths rushed to the cage containing the female emperor moth. Fabre was soon boggled by the phenomenon and so he tried experimenting. When he placed the female moth into a tightly closed container, the male moths were not able to find her, this caused Fabre to conclude that the female moth attracted the male moth through the sense of smell. It took another century before German scientist Adolf Butenandt and his team worked to seek the scent elicited by the female emperor moth to attract the opposite sex. A thousand moths were extracted of chemicals to determine the cause of the phenomenon; it was a chemical known as bombykal. After Butenandt’s discovery, scientist started to find more about the chemicals known as pheromones.
Save the World: Save the sea otters During the 18th and 19th centuries, sea otters were hunted for their luxurious pelts, and by the early 1900s, the species was believed to be extinct in California. (Carswell) Why do we care you ask, well not only are they super cute and eat with their hands. Apparently, a healthy population of sea otters keeps the sea urchin population in check. An unhealthy or small population of sea otters allows the sea urchin’s number to explode thus decimating kelp beds, which is the sea urchin’s food source, and causing a “chain reaction that depletes the food supply for other marine animals consequently causing their decline.
Natural body odor attributes from secretions of sweat, urine, saliva, and genital excretion. Personality traits such as neuroticism, extraversion, and dominance elicit associations with ones body odor. The olfactory system has the ability to learn quickly. With that being said, repeated emotional experiences may create a scent in response to the under or overproduction of secretions making that emotion or trait detectable to others. For example neuroticism is defined as the tendency to experience anxiety, nervousness, fear and easily upset. Emotions that stimulate and sustain the sweat glands customizing ones own personal neurotic aroma.
The capture and control of a breathtaking and majestic creature such as a killer whale is a very tedious subject. Most of the general public would enjoy viewing a show where these giant mammals jump out of the water and perform stunning tricks for viewer satisfaction. But what the public doesn’t see, or realize is that these animals could be severely depressed and could be lacking mandatory stimulation through social bonds and other factors the ocean could give them rather than an oversized bath tub. The ethicalities of keeping such an intelligent animal like an orca in captivity has been under scrutiny for years in the marine biology community. Despite the controlled environments for orcas, these environments cause psychological and social problems to the animals and are worse than nature. There is a distinguishable trait in killer whales in captivity that doesn’t appear in whales in the wild, the dorsal fin of the animal in captivity almost always droops over to one side or the other, and less than one percent of all whales in the wild have been recorded in having this trait. This could be directly related to the depressing life an orca in captivity faces in a closed off world with limited stimulation from the animals incredibly in depth social attributes.
4) In some animals, the roles of the genders may be switched. In seahorses, the males are responsible for giving birth and raising the offspring. In this case, males have more at stake and so the males are the “choosier” mate. They choose a female mate based on the female’s characteristics.
Pheromones are natural scents, which play an important role in sexual communication. Animals and humans release masses of biological chemicals in tears, saliva and perspiration. These aromas convey signals relating to mood, status, drive and health to the subconscious awareness of the female. The dominant male will exude more of these biological attractants than his submissive counterpart, consequently he inevitably attracts more females and enjoys more conquests. This philosophy holds well in the animal world, pheromones are consciously detected over considerable distances and serve at times in place of spoken communication. They help animals mark territory, recognize mates, and signal sexual interest. For example, female dogs in heat leave their pheromone and can attract male dogs over a mile away (5).
In the past fifty years or so orcas have been taken from the wild and kept in captivity to breed, perform, and entertain the public. Despite the increased popularity of captive killer whales, there are very few laws set in place to protect these large, intelligent creatures. Society as a whole needs to decide the level of responsibility and consideration we owe orcas that we keep captive. The decision whether to continue to capture wild orcas and contain them for our benefits lies with the public. The argument of keeping killer whales in captivity has two well-supported sides will valid cases. Public opinion on the captivity of orcas has shifted, especially in the last five years. Recently, many new modifications and changes have been made
Origin - The Maine Coon is a natural breed, however currently the actual origin of the Main Coon is still underway. The "myth" of the Maine Coon coming about from the mating of raccoon and domestic cat is amongst the most popular. Although this is genetically and scientifically impossible to achieve, it first came about to be believed due to its unique brown raccoon-like markings and big bushy tail. "Maine Shags" were the name given to those that had markings any other color besides the brown coat. Theory of Maine Coons coming about from Viking's bringing these animals over into North America has been one of many popular theories. However, the most common theory is that of Marie Antoinette. Many believe when she tried to escape to North America, but did not succeed, she had left her long-haired cat on board, which then came to North America and bred
Scent is part of the five senses that are developed when an infant is still in the mother’s womb. It is processed by a part of the brain that correlates with memory, so at a young age an infant could differentiate who their mother is by scent. Odor is a sign and olfactory condition (Waskul & Vannini, 2008). As someone gets older they begin to develop scents they like and dislike. There are also scents that people find attractive and unattractive. When meeting another individual for the first time a human’s first instinct is to smell them without realizing it. For instance, have you ever sat by someone or hugged someone who smelled good or bad? If so, many people tend to associate the scent with attractiveness or unattractiveness depending on the level of smell. There have been many studies indicating that there is a strong correlation between odor and attractiveness. Although the scent is a universal and an undetectable smell it can influence the level of perceived attractiveness of another person.
As humans, after a long day of activity in our busy lives, we tend to sweat. From going to the gym, walking around, and just weather in general, we all have a habit of sweating. Applying deodorant after a morning shower or when we begin to get sweaty or clammy has become second nature for to of us. Coming in many forms such as roll ons, bars, and sprays, deodorant is used to control the production of sweat and underarm odor. As human nature has evolved we have become more conscious about our body odor. In the past when humans lived in caves, they were less concerned with their body odor then we are today. It is theorized by anthropologists that the human stench kept many people from becoming the dinner of some predator’s, because the animals would find something with a less horrific stench to eat. When the ancient Egyptian’s had leisure time away from constructing pyramids, they worked diligently at masking their own stench. Due to the fact that the ancient Egyptians were conscious about their body odor, they invented the perfumed bath and started to apply a generous amount of perfume to their underarms. The ancient Egyptians also used carob, incense, and porridge as their deodorant; while the women applied large globs of scented wax on their heads which would melt throughout the day to help mask the smell. The ancient Greeks bathed and drenched themselves, their clothes, their horses,and even their household pets in perfume. In the Middle Ages, those who were wealthy used perfume to mask their odor while those who were not wealthy enough to afford perfume basked in their own natural fragrance.
...white-tailed deer comes from one of seven glands. Three of these glands are located on the legs. The interdigital glands are between the hooves of all four feet. The metatarsal glands are on the outside of the hind legs and the tarsal glands are on the inside of the hind legs. The tarsal gland is perhaps the most important of the glands found on the leg. This gland consists of a patch of elongated hairs underlain by an area of large sebaceous glands. The sebaceous glands secrete a fatty lipid that adheres to the hairs of the tarsal gland. This area gives off a strong, musky odor. This odor is the result of urine being deposited on these glands and mixed with lipids during a behavior known as rub-urination. During rub-urination, a deer rubs the two tarsal glands together while urinating over them. All deer engage in this rub-urination behavior throughout the year.