Scent-marking and intrasexual competition in a cooperative carnivore with low reproductive skew
Scent-marking and intrasexual competition in a cooperative carnivore with low reproductive skew
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1439-0310.2007.01455.x
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发表时间：
2008-02-01
期刊：
影响因子：
1.7
通讯作者：
Manser, Marta B.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Mueller, Corsin A.;Manser, Marta B.
大多数哺乳动物的气味标记和各种假说已被提出来解释这一行为。不同物种之间气味标记的主要功能的差异可能与社会制度的差异有关。在这里，我们调查的功能气味标记在合作繁殖的食肉动物。在带状猫鼬（Mungos mungo），两性个体通常在其纳塔尔群体中繁殖，群体内的生殖偏斜很低。使用实验的气味标记介绍，我们测试的预测内的性竞争，自我广告的潜在的伴侣和优势断言假设。无论是男性和女性的反应更强烈的气味标记的同性比异性的个人。占主导地位的个人反标记比下属的和男性表现出更高的反标记率比女性，但只有轻微的。在发情期，反应的气味标记增加了两性。我们的研究结果强烈表明，气味标记在带状猫鼬主要服务于一个目的，在性内竞争之间和组内。不像其他群居的草食动物和一些独居的啮齿动物，我们几乎没有发现自我广告的证据。我们认为，独特的社会制度的带状猫鼬的结果在自我广告失去重要性，在这个物种，转移的主要功能的气味标记的性内竞争。
Most mammals scent-mark and a variety of hypotheses have been put forward to explain this behaviour. Differences in the main function of scent-marking between species are likely to be related to differences in social systems. Here, we investigate the functions of scent-marking in a cooperatively breeding carnivore. In the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), individuals of both sexes commonly breed in their natal group and reproductive skew within groups is low. Using experimental scent-mark presentations, we tested predictions of the intrasexual competition, self-advertisement to potential mates and dominance assertion hypotheses. Both males and females responded more intensely to scent marks of same-sexed than of opposite-sexed individuals. Dominant individuals counter-marked more than subordinate ones and males showed higher counter-marking rates than females, but only marginally so. During oestrus, responses to scent marks were increased by both sexes. Our findings strongly indicate that scent-marking in the banded mongoose primarily serves a purpose in intrasexual competition both between and within groups. Unlike in other social herpestids and some solitary rodents, we found little evidence for self-advertisement. We suggest that the peculiar social system of the banded mongoose results in self-advertisement losing importance in this species, shifting the main function of scent-marking to intrasexual competition.