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2 Polish Journal of Ecology

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Chemical communication in large carnivores : urine-marking frequencies in captive tigers and lions

Miguel F., Barja I.

Polish Journal of Ecology

2010

Vol. 58, nr 2

397-400

Environmental and social pressures can result in interspecies differences in marking behaviours. There is a strong relationship between marking behaviour and the environment. Therefore, closely related species that show behavioural differences in the wild may have different scent marking strategies. We conducted a comparative study of the urine-marking behaviours of tigers and lions in captivity (Madrid Zoo, open enclosures of 514 m2 and 730 m2 respectively, observations of 8 animals for each species). These two closely related species have different natural habitats. We observed interspecific differences in the rates, seasonal variations, and durations of the urine-marking acts. The marking rate was higher in tigers, which also showed seasonal variations not observed in lions. The duration of urine marking was lower in tigers than in lions. These differences seem to correspond to differences between tigers and lions in terms of their natural habitats (forest areas vs open areas), social organizations (solitary vs social), and reproductive biology patterns (seasonal polyoestrous vs annual polyoestrous).

Spatial distribution of scent marks in the Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes L.) : do red foxes select certain plants as signal posts?

Miguel F., Valencia A. A., Arroyo M., Monclus R.

Polish Journal of Ecology

2009

Vol. 57, nr 3

605-609

Chemical signals are widely used in inter and intraspecific communication in many animals. The importance of scent marks in communication has led to a variety of strategies in animals to increase the detectability and persistence of their scent marks. We studied the scent marking of foxes in relation to the role of plants as scent posts in a suburban Mediterranean forest in Madrid. Twice a month, from October 2005 to April 2006, we prospected 16 fixed 50 x 50 m plots, randomly distributed along the study area. We registered all fox faeces and their association to different plants, as well as the potential availability of the different plant species in our study area. Our results indicate that faeces were associated with plants mainly in the clearings, foxes preferred wooden species to grasses as scent posts and holm oak shrubs and rockroses to other wooden species. These data suggest that red foxes select certain plants as substrates for their faeces and pose the possibility that they are guided by searching images when looking for scent posts.