1998/11/01 by Lixing Sun, Dietland Müller‐Schwarze · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Ecology and biodiversity studies #Medicinal Plant Pharmacodynamics Research #Botany and Plant Ecology Studies
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1998.tb00041.x
openalex publication_date 1998/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract We investigated how information about relatedness is coded in the anal gland secretion (AGS) of the beaver (Castor canadensis). Using gas chromatography, we found that individual secretion profiles did not change over time and location of the beaver and the variation in the AGS profile was smaller within an individual than between individuals. Therefore, the AGS is suituable for characterising individuality. We also found that related individuals shared more features in the AGS profile than did unrelated individuals. Hence, information about kinship can be coded in the AGS profile. These findings substantiate the behavioural kin recognition system using the mechanism of phenotype matching in the beaver.