Chemical communication in green and golden bell frogs: do tadpoles respond to chemical cues from dead conspecifics?

Snakes rely heavily on chemical cues when foraging, searching for mates, etc. Snakes’ sex attractiveness pheromones comprise mainly heavy, semi-volatile compounds such as ketones. Here we investigated the composition of skin secretions of adult Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) individuals. The samples were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and the identification of the compounds was performed using commercial mass spectral libraries and retention times. The relative concentrations of all detected compounds were tested for significant differences between (1) male vs. female live individuals, (2) shed skin vs. live individuals, and (3) pre-reproductive vs. reproductive live individuals. We detected fifty-nine compounds of which six were ketones. Two ketones (2-pentacosanone and 2-heptacosanone) were present in many of the samples and thus may have an important role in the V. ammodytes chemical communication. We did not find significant differences between the relative concentrations of the compounds between male and female individuals (only three compounds are exceptions). Significant differences were found between extracts from shed skins and live individuals and between live pre-reproductive individuals and live reproductive individuals. The results of the study suggest that chemical communication in V. ammodytes involves less compounds in comparison to the known literature data for other species.

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Pheromone trailing in male European whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/156853807782152453 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 555-559 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Marco Zuffi ◽

Elisa Bresciani ◽

Sara Fornasiero ◽

Federica Dendi

Keyword(s):

Chemical Communication ◽

Breeding Season ◽

Chemical Cues ◽

Adult Males ◽

Sexual Discrimination ◽

Pheromone Trails ◽

Y Maze ◽

Communication Ability ◽

Pheromone Trail ◽

Whip Snake

Abstract The ability of snakes to follow conspecific pheromone trails during the breeding season is of primary importance to locate potential mates, and also to elicit and maintain courtship or other reproductive behaviours, such as agonistic behaviour. Despite the recent increased knowledge on snake chemical ecology, yet little information is available on European species and nothing is known about chemical communication in European colubrid species. The aim of this study was to characterise the pheromone-mediated trailing behaviour in male European whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus. When tested in trailing experiments using a Y-maze, male European whip snakes displayed the ability to trail both male and female pheromones when presented versus a blank arm of the maze. Moreover, adult males followed the female pheromone trail when presented simultaneously with the male trail. Our study demonstrated that male Hierophis viridiflavus rely on chemical cues for the location and the sexual discrimination of conspecifics during the breeding season. Convergence between different mating systems and chemical communication ability in distantly related species is discussed.

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Response to chemical cues from conspecifics reflects male mating preference for large females and avoidance of large competitors in the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853906776759510 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 143 (5) ◽

pp. 569-587 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Martin Plath ◽

Yvonne Meyer-Lucht ◽

Jens R. Poschadel

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Chemical Communication ◽

Chemical Cues ◽

The Body ◽

Size Difference ◽

Male Mating ◽

Emys Orbicularis ◽

Strength Of Preference ◽

Pond Turtle ◽

Untreated Water

AbstractWe examined chemical communication in male and female European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis). In simultaneous binary choice tests, a focal animal was given a choice between pheromones from a conspecific and a choice chamber containing untreated water. Females did not show a preference, both when male and when female stimuli were presented. On the contrary, males preferred the odor of a female over untreated water, suggesting that males actively search for females. The strength of preference was positively correlated with the body size difference between the female and the focal male, indicating that males prefer to mate with larger females. Female fecundity is positively correlated with female size in E. orbicularis, which may account for male choosiness. No overall preference for the stimulus animal was observed when males were presented cues from another male. However, the strength of preference was negatively correlated with the difference in body size. Males avoided large males, but oriented towards smaller stimulus males. This reflects that males form dominance hierarchies, where large males aggressively attack smaller ones. Far-range chemical communication probably enables males to minimize the risk of costly aggressive interactions. This is, to our knowledge, the first study on the role of chemical cues for inter and intrasexual communication in the European pond turtle.

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Females of the four-eyed frog, Pleurodema thaul (Anura, Leptodactylidae), respond behaviourally to conspecific male scent

Herpetozoa ◽

10.3897/herpetozoa.34.e62007 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 115-120

Author(s):

Valentina Rojas ◽

Antonieta Labra ◽

José Luis Valdés ◽

Nelson A. Velásquez

Keyword(s):

Chemical Communication ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Chemical Cues ◽

Distilled Water ◽

Conspecific Male ◽

Chemical Sense ◽

Y Maze ◽

Male Scent ◽

Intraspecific Communication ◽

Natural Breeding

Among amphibians, conspecific chemical communication has been widely studied in Caudata. Adult anurans, by contrast, have received less attention. Recently, it was shown that chemical scents are also relevant for adult anuran intraspecific communication. In this context, we evaluate whether females of the four-eyed frog (Pleurodema thaul) respond to conspecific male scents. We carried out a double choice experiment in a Y-maze. Females were repeatedly presented with the scents of several males versus distilled water. To extract the scent from males, we acoustically stimulated males and then used the water from their aquaria for the experiments. Our data suggest that females are capable of responding behaviourally to male scents, since they spent longer periods in the zones with male scent, rather than in zones with water. We propose that under natural breeding conditions, females of P. thaul may use either their chemical sense or chemical cues to facilitate their encounters with males.

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Reproducible research into human chemical communication by cues and pheromones: learning from psychology's renaissance

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2019.0262 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 375 (1800) ◽

pp. 20190262 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Tristram D. Wyatt

Keyword(s):

Chemical Communication ◽

Chemical Cues ◽

False Positives ◽

Small Sample ◽

Olfactory Cues ◽

Reproducible Research ◽

Olfactory Communication ◽

Biomedical Sciences ◽

Human Pheromones ◽

Small Sample Sizes

Despite the lack of evidence that the ‘putative human pheromones' androstadienone and estratetraenol ever were pheromones, almost 60 studies have claimed ‘significant' results. These are quite possibly false positives and can be best seen as potential examples of the ‘reproducibility crisis', sadly common in the rest of the life and biomedical sciences, which has many instances of whole fields based on false positives. Experiments on the effects of olfactory cues on human behaviour are also at risk of false positives because they look for subtle effects but use small sample sizes. Research on human chemical communication, much of it falling within psychology, would benefit from vigorously adopting the proposals made by psychologists to enable better, more reliable science, with an emphasis on enhancing reproducibility. A key change is the adoption of study pre-registration and/or Registered Reports which will also reduce publication bias. As we are mammals, and chemical communication is important to other mammals, it is likely that chemical cues are important in our behaviour and that humans may have pheromones, but new approaches will be needed to reliably demonstrate them. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Olfactory communication in humans’.

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Publisher Correction to: Chemical cues for intraspecific chemical communication and interspecific interactions in aquatic environments: applications for fisheries and aquaculture

Fisheries Science ◽

10.1007/s12562-021-01571-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michiya Kamio ◽

Hidenobu Yambe ◽

Nobuhiro Fusetani

Keyword(s):

Chemical Communication ◽

Chemical Cues ◽

Interspecific Interactions ◽

Aquatic Environments

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Parasite-Modified Chemical Communication: Implications for Aquatic Community Dynamics

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2021.634754 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Olwyn C. Friesen ◽

Jillian T. Detwiler

Keyword(s):

Chemical Communication ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Chemical Cues ◽

Signaling Molecules ◽

Aquatic Communities ◽

Community Members ◽

Pathway Crosstalk ◽

And Behavior ◽

Host Parasite ◽

The Relationship

Chemical communication within an aquatic environment creates an intricate signaling web that provides species with information about their surroundings. Signaling molecules, like oxylipins, mediate a multitude of interactions between free-living members of a community including non-consumptive effects by predators. Parasites are another source of signaling molecules in aquatic communities and contribute directly by synthesizing them or indirectly by manipulating host chemical cues. If chemical cues of infected hosts are altered, then non-consumptive interactions between other members of the community may also be affected. Different cues from infected hosts may alter behaviors in other individuals related to foraging, competition, and defense priming. Here, we discuss how parasites could modify host chemical cues, which may have far reaching consequences for other community members and the ecosystem. We discuss how the modification of signaling molecules by parasites may also represent a mechanism for parasite-modified behavior within some systems and provide a mechanism for non-consumptive effects of parasites. Further, we propose a host-parasite system that could be used to investigate some key, unanswered questions regarding the relationship between chemical cues, parasite-modified behavior, and non-consumptive effects. We explain how trematode-gastropod systems can be used to test whether there are alterations in the diversity and amounts of signaling molecules available, and if habitat use, immune function, and behavior of other individuals and species are affected. Finally, we argue that changes to pathway crosstalk by parasites within communities may have broad ecological implications.

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