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Male Scent Gland Signals Mating Status in Greater Spear-Nosed Bats, Phyllostomus hastatus

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Abstract

Chemical signals are ubiquitous, but often overlooked as potentially important for conveying information relevant for sexual selection. The male greater spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus hastatus, possesses a sexually dimorphic gland on the chest that produces an odoriferous secretion. Here, we investigate the potential for this glandular secretion to act as a sexually selected olfactory signal by examining gland activity in and out of the mating season and determining if variation in its chemical composition reflects variation in male mating status or attributes of the individual. Based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) measurements of samples collected from wild bats roosting in caves in Trinidad, West Indies, we find that males that defend and roost with groups of females (harem holders) have significantly different chemical profiles from males found roosting in all male groups (bachelors). Additionally, profiles differed significantly among individuals. Taken together, these results suggest that this chemical signal has the potential to communicate both mating status and individual identity and thus could be used to mediate interactions among individuals within this harem-based social mating system.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S Yannuzzi and J Schefski for their assistance in the field and K Paczolt for comments on a previous version of this manuscript. This work was supported by grants to DA from the American Society of Mammalogists, the Cosmos Club Foundation, the Society for the Study of Evolution, and the Animal Behavior Society.

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Correspondence to Danielle M. Adams.

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All samples were collected and exported under permits from the Wildlife Section of Forestry Division of Trinidad and Tobago. All methods of capture, handling, and sample collection follow the guidelines set forth by the American Society of Mammalogists and were approved by the University of Maryland Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (FR-13-77).

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Adams, D.M., Li, Y. & Wilkinson, G.S. Male Scent Gland Signals Mating Status in Greater Spear-Nosed Bats, Phyllostomus hastatus. J Chem Ecol 44, 975–986 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-018-1003-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-018-1003-8

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