Various cutaneous glands have been identified as sources of chemical signals that mediate many social interactions in deer. The pampas deer, a species considered near threatened, inhabits grasslands of South America. In this work, the chemical compositions from preorbital, tarsal, and digital gland secretions of semi-captive males were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The composition of these secretions showed a great complexity, with 143 compounds detected. Hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses show no relation to age or secretion type. Five compound classes (esters, fatty alcohols, lactones, sterols, and sulphuretted) differed with glands. The chemical complexity of the secretions, the individual differences in the whole compounds composition, and the absence of clustering by age lead to the hypothesis that these secretions may encode at once for individual information and for social status information.
How to translate text using browser tools
28 October 2016
Chemical profile of the cutaneous gland secretions from male pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus)
Carmen Rossini,
Rodolfo Ungerfeld
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Journal of Mammalogy
Vol. 97 • No. 1
February 2016
Vol. 97 • No. 1
February 2016