Can gulls smell out a good partner?

Study suggests kittiwakes use body odor to assess genetically compatible mates

2011-07-07

(Press-News.org) Male and female kittiwakes smell different from each other, according to research by Sarah Leclaire from the Centre national de la recherche scientifique at the Université Paul Sabatier in France and her team. Their work also suggests that the birds' body odors might signal the genetic makeup of individual birds, and could be used in mate choice to assess the genetic compatibility of potential partners. The study is published in the July issue of Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften – The Science of Nature.

Birds protect their feathers by preening them with the secretions of the preen gland. These secretions also carry odors. Scents in preen secretions tend to vary widely depending on the species, season and/or sex of the bird.

Leclaire and colleagues investigated the body odor in preen gland secretions and preen down feathers in a population of black-legged kittiwakes nesting in the Gulf of Alaska. Kittiwakes are a seabird species in the gull family. They collected samples of preen oil and preen down feathers from 21 females and 20 males, to test whether the birds' body odor carried individual and/or sexual signatures likely to reliably signal individual genetic makeup. These seabirds choose to mate with genetically dissimilar partners, but the cues used to assess genetic characteristics are unknown.

They found a total of 68 odor compounds, across both oil and feather samples. They also identified a difference in the amount of odor compounds between males and females, suggesting that scent may be one of the multiple cues used by birds to discriminate between sexes. The authors also detected an individual signature in preen secretions and preen down feathers; in other words they found evidence of individual-specific secretions.

Leclaire and colleagues conclude: "Our study suggests the existence of two odor signatures in kittiwakes: a sex and an individual signature. These results point to body odor as a signal associated with individual recognition and mate choice. Kittiwakes may be using body odor to assess the genetic compatibility of potential mates."

### Reference Leclaire S et al (2011). An individual and a sex odor signature in kittiwakes? Study of the semiochemical composition of preen secretion and preen down feathers. Naturwissenschaften – The Science of Nature DOI 10.1007/s00114-011-0809-9

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Socioeconomic status as child dictates response to stress as adult

2011-07-07

When faced with threat, people who grew up poor are more likely to make risky financial choices in search of a quick windfall, according to new research from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. Published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, "The Influence of Mortality and Socioeconomic Status on Risk and Delayed Rewards: A Life History Approach" by Carlson School assistant professor of marketing Vladas Griskevicius found that people respond to feeling threatened differently depending on whether people grew up in relatively resource-scarce ...

Berkeley Lab researchers apply NMR/MRI to microfluidic chromatography

2011-07-07

By pairing an award-winning remote-detection version of NMR/MRI technology with a unique version of chromatography specifically designed for microfluidic chips, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have opened the door to a portable system for highly sensitive multi-dimensional chemical analysis that would be impractical if not impossible with conventional technologies. Alexander Pines, a faculty senior scientist in Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and the Glenn T. Seaborg Professor of Chemistry ...

Atlanta SEO Company Cardinal Web Solutions Publishes Article Explaining Google +1 Button

2011-07-07

Atlanta SEO company Cardinal Web Solutions has published an original article on the Google +1 button, and its potential effect on search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising. This most recent article is part of an ongoing effort by Cardinal Web Solutions to keep business owners informed on changes in the industry that could affect their Internet marketing campaigns. The +1 button, which Google has explained will be used to connect users with more relevant content, is viewed by the industry as Google's response to Facebook's "Like" button. The +1 ...

Climate change forces early spring

2011-07-07

Spring is hailed as the season of rebirth, but if it comes too early, it can threaten the plants it is meant to welcome. A University of Alberta study shows that climate change over the past 70 years has pushed some of the province's native wildflowers and trees into earlier blooming times, making them more vulnerable to damaging frosts, and ultimately, threatening reproduction. U of A PhD candidate Elisabeth Beaubien and her supervisor, professor Andreas Hamann of the Department of Renewable Resources, studied the life cycle of central Alberta spring blooms, spanning ...

A mother's salt intake could be key to prenatal kidney development

2011-07-07

Bethesda, Md. (July 6, 2011) – A new animal study from Europe has drawn an association between pregnant mothers' sodium intake and their newborn's kidney development. Among the most significant aspects of the study's findings is that either too much or too little salt during pregnancy had an adverse effect on the prenatal development of the offspring's kidneys. The consequence of such disruption can lead to high blood pressure in later years. These are the conclusions reached in the study, "Both High and Low Maternal Salt Intake in Pregnancy Alters Kidney Development ...

Nano detector for deadly anthrax

2011-07-07

An automatic and portable detector that takes just fifteen minutes to analyze a sample suspected of contamination with anthrax is being developed by US researchers. The technology amplifies any anthrax DNA present in the sample and can reveal the presence of just 40 microscopic cells of the deadly bacteria Bacillus anthracis. B. anthracis, commonly known as anthrax, is a potentially lethal microbe that might be used intentionally to infect victims through contamination of food and water supplies, aerosolized particles, or even dried powders, such as those used in bioterrorist ...

GEN point of view article questions reported costs of drug R&D

2011-07-07

New Rochelle, NY, July 6, 2011—A policy specialist and a healthcare economist both say that the oft-quoted cost of $1.32 billion to bring a new drug to market does not hold up to close scrutiny, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). The researchers emphasize that available cost data cannot be trusted because the numbers are subject to numerous internal and external sources of variability, according to the July issue of GEN (http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/drug-r-d-costs-questioned/3707). "With heated discussions still taking place over healthcare ...

Simpsonville Hotel Provides a Special Rate to Fans Attending Miranda Lambert at Charter Amphitheatre

2011-07-07

Holiday Inn Express Hotel Simpsonville provides a special rate for guests attending Miranda Lambert on July 16, 2011. The show will take place at 7:30pm in Charter Amphitheatre at Heritage Park. Special guests include Josh Kelley & Ashton Shepherd. Travelers attending any concert at Charter Amphitheatre can select the "Greenville Arena Discount" when booking at the Holiday Inn Express Simpsonville to receive a 10% discount. Some restrictions may apply. Miranda Lambert is an American country music singer who gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season ...

John Theurer Cancer Center BMT researchers highlight the importance of social support

2011-07-07

Hackensack, NJ (June 29, 2011) – Researchers at the John Theurer Cancer Center recently published a study delineating the connection of social support to distress after stem cell transplants. Scott Rowley, M.D., Chief, Blood & Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation Program, the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center contributed to the study which was led by Larissa E. Labay from Mt. Sinai. The study was published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, a peer-reviewed publication produced by the American Psychological Association. The ...

London bombing memories explored

2011-07-07

Los Angeles, CA (July 7th, 2011) - Six years on from the devastating 7/7 London bombings and in the wake of the inquest into the attacks, a special issue of the journal Memory Studies, published by SAGE, explores new research into our collective memories of this tragic event. "The London attacks make for a particularly compelling case study of contemporary remembrance and commemoration," say authors of the lead editorial, Matthew Allen and Annie Bryan. "Significantly, it would seem that a wider social project of remembering the bombings is at odds with the inquest's ...

Funding for lifesaving global health programs forecasted to reach 15-year low, threatening to reverse decades of progress

Exercise could ease symptoms for people with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, but support and adequate guidance is lacking

[Press-News.org] Can gulls smell out a good partner?
Study suggests kittiwakes use body odor to assess genetically compatible mates

Can gulls smell out a good partner?

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: