TY  - JOUR
A1  - Linklater, Wayne L.
A1  - Mayer, Katharina
A1  - Swaisgood, Ronald R.
T1  - Chemical signals of age, sex and identity in black rhinoceros
T2  - Animal behaviour
N2  - Olfactory communication may be particularly important to black rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis, because they are solitary living and have comparatively poor eyesight but their populations are structured by inter-and intrasexual relationships. Understanding olfactory functions and processes might achieve better conservation management but their study in rhinoceros remains anecdotal or descriptive. Experimental approaches are required but rarely possible as rhinoceros are difficult to observe and manipulate. We measured the olfactory investigation behaviour (duration and frequency of sniffing) of black rhinoceros in four experiments designed to determine the function of chemosignals in dung and urine. A habituationedishabituation trial demonstrated that black rhinoceros discriminated individually distinctive odours from faecal signals (experiment 1). When adults (>6 years old) were presented with dung from conspecifics of different sex and age classes (adult, and subadult from 2 to 4 years old), male dung was investigated more by both sexes, and females investigated subadult dung more (experiment 2). Both dung and urine from the same adult donors were investigated by both sexes, but male dung was investigated more than female dung and female urine more than male urine, although differences were statistically weak (experiment 3). Lastly, fresh faecal samples and those aged 1, 2, 4, 16 and 32 days were similarly investigated, indicating that they still function as olfactory signals. Together the results indicate that dung or urine signalled age, sex and identity to conspecifics and signals may persist as dung decays. Chemosignals are likely to be important to the social and spatial organization of black rhinoceros.
KW  - black rhinoceros
KW  - Diceros bicornis var. minor
KW  - dung
KW  - faeces
KW  - hook-lipped rhinoceros
KW  - individual discrimination
KW  - olfactory communication
KW  - signal
KW  - urine
Y1  - 2013
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/35192
SN  - 0003-3472
VL  - 85
IS  - 3
SP  - 671
EP  - 677
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - London
ER  -