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Induction of marking behavior in wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) by synthetic urinary constituents

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Abstract

A control aqueous solution containing alcohol and polyethylene glycol, and a test solution with the addition of a mixture of eight volatile synthetic compounds identified in red fox urine, Were alternately placed on man-made mounds of fresh snow during January and February, the foxes' courtship season. The foxes preferentially marked those mounds treated with the test solution in the two experimental areas (P < 0.05 and <0.0001). It is concluded that one or more of the volatile substances induces mound marking in this species.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Jackson Laboratory, 04609, Bar Harbor, Maine

    W. K. Whitten & M. C. Wilson

  2. Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, 47401, Bloomington, Indiana

    S. R. Wilson, J. W. Jorgenson, M. Novotny & M. Carmack

Authors
  1. W. K. Whitten
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  2. M. C. Wilson
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  3. S. R. Wilson
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  4. J. W. Jorgenson
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  5. M. Novotny
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  6. M. Carmack
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Whitten, W.K., Wilson, M.C., Wilson, S.R. et al. Induction of marking behavior in wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) by synthetic urinary constituents. J Chem Ecol 6, 49–55 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987526

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00987526

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