Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sexual Dimorphism in Territorial Scent Marking by Adult Eurasian Beavers (Castor fiber)

  • Published:
Journal of Chemical Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Mammalian scent marking is often associated with territorial defense. However, males and females may demonstrate different activity patterns and play different roles. Female mammals nurture the young during lactation, while males purportedly perform other tasks more frequently, such as territorial maintenance and defense. This paper investigates the contribution made by mated pairs of adult males and females to territorial scent-marking in the obligate monogamous Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber). We hypothesized that both sexes should show territorial behavior, and predicted that they deposit a higher proportion of scent marks at borders. We also hypothesized that a sexual dimorphism exists due to reproductive constraints on the females, and predicted that males should invest significantly more in scent-marking behavior than females during summer. We obtained behavioral data by radio tracking six mated pairs of Eurasian beavers during spring and summer 2000–2001 on two rivers in southeastern Norway. Our results showed that both males and females clustered their scent marks near territorial borders, but males deposited a larger number of scent marks than females and spent more time at borders. Males were also found to have a higher scent marking rate and scent marks per night than females during summer, but not during spring. Overall, scent marks per night were higher in males than females. We conclude that both males and females Eurasian beavers carry out territorial behavior by scent marking, but males carry a larger part of the territorial defense during summer when females lactate. Our results are discussed in the light of the codefense hypothesis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Altmann, J. 1974. Observational study of behaviour: Sampling methods. Behaviour 49:227–267.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Back, S. R., Beeler, L. A., Schaefer, R. L., and Solomon, N. G. 2002. Testing functional hypotheses for the behavior of resident pine voles, Microtus pinetorum, toward non-residents. Ethology 108:1023–1039.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, B. W. and Hill, H. P. 2003. Beaver (Castor canadensis), pp. 288–310, in G. A. Feldhamer, B. C. Thompson, and J. A. Chapman (eds.). Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation, 2nd edn. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buech, R. R. 1995. Sex differences in behaviour of beavers living in near-boreal lake habitat. Can. J. Zool 73:2133–2143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, R. G. and Butler, L. A. 1979. Toward a functional interpretation of scent marking in the beaver (Castor canadensis). Behav. Neural Biol. 26:442–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, R. D. 2000. Territoriality in the European beaver, Castor fiber. MSc thesis, University of East Anglia, UK.

  • Campbell, N. A. and Reece, J. B. 2002. Biology, 6th edn. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, R. D., Rosell, F., Nolet, B. A., and Dijkstra, V. A. A. 2005. Territoriality and group sizes in Eurasian beavers: Echoes of settlement and reproduction? Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 58:597–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock, T. H. 1989. Mammalian mating systems. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B, Biol. Sciences 236:339–372.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Corp, N., Gorman, M. L., and Speakman, J. R. 1997. Ranging behaviour and time budgets of male wood mice Apodemus sylyaticus in different habitats and seasons. Oecologia 109:242–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dytham, C. 1999. Choosing and Using Statistics: A Biologist's Guide. Blackwell, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorman, M. L. 1990. Scent marking strategies in mammals. Rev. Suisse Zool. 97:3–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gorman, M. L. and Mills, M. G. L. 1984. Scent marking strategies in hyaenas (Mammalia). J. Zool. London 202:535–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gosling, L. M. 1982. A reassessment of the function of scent marking in territories. Z. Tierpsychol. 60:89–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosling, L. M. 1986. Economic consequences of scent marking in mammalian territoriality, pp. 385–395, in D. Duvall, D. Müller-Schwarze, and R. M. Silverstein (eds.). Chemical Signals in Vertebrates IV. Plenum, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosling, L. M. 1990. Scent marking by resource holders. Alternative mechanisms for advertising the costs of competition, pp. 315–328, in D. W. Macdonald, D. Müller-Schwarze, and S. E. Natynczuk (eds.). Chemical Signals in Vertebrates. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosling, L. M. and Mckay, H. V. 1990. Competitor assessment by scent-matching: An experimental test. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 26:415–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gosling, L. M. and Roberts, S. C. 2001. Scent-marking by male mammals: Cheat-proof signals to competitors and mates. Adv. Study Behav. 30:169–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gosling, L. M., Roberts, S. C., Thornton, E. A., and Andrew, M. J. 2000. Life history costs of olfactory status signalling in mice. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 48:328–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haines, A. L. 1955. Osborne Russell's Journal of a Trapper. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herr, J. and Rosell, F. 2004. Use of space and movements patterns in monogamous adult Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber). J. Zool. London 262:257–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houlihan, P. M. 1989. Scent mounding by beaver (Castor canadensis): Functional and semiochemical aspects. M.Sc. thesis, State University of New York, Syracuse.

  • Kleiman, D. G. 1977. Monogamy in mammals. Q. Rev. Biol. 52:39–69.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P. and Bateson, P. 1999. Measuring Behaviour: An Introductory Guide, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathews, L. M. 2002. Territorial cooperation and social monogamy: Factors affecting intersexual behaviours in pair-living snapping shrimp. Anim. Behav. 63:767–777.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Schwarze, D. and Houlihan, P. W. 1991. Pheromonal activity of single castoreum constituents in beaver, Castor canadensis. J. Chem. Ecol. 17:715–734.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolet, B. A., Hoekstra, A., and Ottenheim, M. M. 1994. Effective foraging on woody species by the beaver Castor fiber, and its impact on a riparian willow forest. Biol. Conserv. 70:117–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nolet, B. A. and Rosell, F. 1994. Territoriality and time budgets in beavers during sequential settlement. Can. J. Zool. 72:1227–1237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olstad, O. 1937. Beverens (Castor fiber) utbredelse i Norge. Statens viltundersøkelser. Nytt Mag. Naturvidensk. 77:217–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ranheim, B., Rosell, F., Haga, H. A., and Arnemo, J. M. 2004. Field anaesthetic and surgical techniques for implantation of intraperitoneal radio-transmitters in Eurasian beavers Castor fiber. Wildl. Biol. 10:11–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, P. R. K. 1991. Territorial significance of scent marking during the non-mating season in the aardwolf Proteles cristatus (Carnivora: Protelidae). Ethology 87:9–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, P. R. K. 1993. The function of scent marking in territories: A resurrection of the intimidation hypothesis. Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr. 48:195–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rich, T. J. and Hurst, J. L. 1999. The competing countermarks hypothesis: Reliable assessment of competitive ability by potential mates. Anim. Behav. 58:1027–1037.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, S. C. 1998. Behavioral responses to scent marks of increasing age in klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus. Ethology 104:585–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, S. C. and Lowen, C. 1997. Optimal patterns of scent marks in klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) territories. J. Zool., London 243:565–578.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosell, F. 2002. The function of scent marking in beaver (Castor fiber) territorial defence. PhD dissertation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.

  • Rosell, F. and Bergan, F. 1998. Free-ranging Eurasian beavers, Castor fiber, deposit anal gland secretion when scent marking. Can. Field-Nat. 112:532–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosell, F. and Sun, L. 1999. Use of anal gland secretion to distinguish the two beaver species Castor canadensis and C. fiber. Wildl. Biol. 5:119–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosell, F. and Hovde, B. 2001. Methods of aquatic and terrestrial netting to capture Eurasian beavers. Wildl. Soc. Bull. 29:269–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosell, F. and Sundsdal, L. J. 2001. Odorant source used in Eurasian beaver territory marking. J. Chem. Ecol. 27:2471–2491.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosell, F. and Bjørkøyli, T. 2002. A test of the dear enemy phenomenon in the Eurasian beaver. Anim. Behav. 63:1073–1078.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosell, F. and Steifetten, Ø. 2004. Subspecies discrimination in the Scandinavian beaver (Castor fiber): Combining behavioral and chemical evidence. Can. J. Zool. 82:902–909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosell, F. and Schulte, B. 2004. Sexual dimorphism in the development of scent structures for the obligate monogamous Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber). J. Mammal. 85:1138–1144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosell, F., Bergan, F., and Parker, H. 1998. Scent-marking in the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) as means of territory defense. J. Chem. Ecol. 24:207–219.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schulte, B. A. 1998. Scent marking and responses to male castor fluid by beavers. J. Mammal. 79:191–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharpe, F. and Rosell, F. 2003. Time budgets and sex differences in the Eurasian beaver. Anim. Behav. 66:1059–1067.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sillero-Zubiri, C. and Macdonald, D. W. 1998. Scent marking and territorial behaviour of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis). J. Zool., London, 245:351–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sliwa, A. and Richardson, P. R. K. 1998. Responses of aardwolves, Proteles cristatus, Sparrman 1783, to translocated scent marks. Anim. Behav. 56:137–146.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal, R. R. and Rohlf, F. J. 1995. Biometry. The Principles and Practice of Statistics in Biological Research, 3rd edn. Freeman, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun, L. 2003. Monogamy correlates, socioecological factors, and mating systems in beavers, pp. 138–146, in U. H. Reichard and C. Boesch (eds.). Monogamy: Mating Strategies and Partnerships in Birds, Humans and Other Mammals. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun, L. and Müller-Schwarze, D. 1998. Beaver response to recurrent alien scent: Scent fence or scent match? Anim. Behav. 55:1529–1536.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Svendsen, G. E. and Huntsman, W. D. 1988. A field bioassay of beaver castoreum and some of its components. Am. Midl. Nat. 120:144–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilsson, L. 1971. Observations and experiments on the ethology of the European Beaver (Castor fiber L.). Viltrevy 8:115–266.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Frode Bergan, Orsolya Bozsér, Ruairidh D. Campbell, Jan Herr, Bjørnar Hovde, Bruno Pinto, and Fiona Sharpe for assistance in the field, and Jon M. Arnemo and Birgit Ranheim for conducting the implant operations. The study was financially supported by Telemark University College. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Health Studies, Telemark University College, N-3800 Bø i, Telemark, Norway

    Frank Rosell

  2. Department of Ecology & Genetics, Institute of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, Bldg. 1540, Aarhus, Denmark

    Liat R. Thomsen

Authors
  1. Frank Rosell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Liat R. Thomsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frank Rosell.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rosell, F., Thomsen, L.R. Sexual Dimorphism in Territorial Scent Marking by Adult Eurasian Beavers (Castor fiber). J Chem Ecol 32, 1301–1315 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-006-9087-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-006-9087-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation