For wolves (Canis lupus) scats play an important function in territorial marking behaviour. Depositing scats at strategic sites such as crossroads and on conspicuous substrates probably increases their effectiveness as visual and olfactory marks. It is therefore likely that scats will be deposited, and will accumulate, at particular crossroads where the probability of being detected by other wolves is greatest. To check this hypothesis, a wolf population in NW Spain was studied for two consecutive years, from May 1998 to March 2000, and the spatial distribution of 311 scats detected along roads (both at and away from crossroads) was analysed. This study was conducted over an area of 12,000 ha in Montes do Invernadeiro Natural Park. The results confirm that wolves preferably deposit their scats at crossroads (60.1%) and on conspicuous substrates (72.1%). Significantly more scats were found at intersections with numerous, easily passable roads connecting distant territories. Thus, wolves preferably deposit their faeces at crossroads with high accessibility and driveability. The larger the surface area of the crossroads, the more scats were found. Crossroads are therefore highly strategic points that facilitate the detection of scats.
One of the functions of chemical communication is territorial signalling. To achieve this, animals should mark their territories in a manner that increases the detectability of the marks, thereby maximising the probability that other animals detect the scent marks. In this study, we focused on the scent-marking behaviour of red foxes in relation to the abundance of their main prey, the European rabbit, in a suburban forest in Madrid, Spain. Our results reveal that foxes scent-marked more and increased the detectability of their marks in areas of higher rabbit density. It would appear that foxes defend food resources from competitors by increasing the number and the detectability of their scent marks.
Urine marking behaviour was observed over 14 months in two captive pairs of Iberian wolves (Canis lupus signatus) by means of behaviour sampling. The study focused on the relative attractiveness of the different stimuli toward which urinations are directed, the seasonal context of urine marking, and the response by mates to sexually dimorphic action patterns. Kinds of marked substrates varied according to the posture used by wolves to urinate [raised-leg urination (RLU), flexed-leg urination (FLU), standing urination (STU), or squat urination (SQU)]. In RLUs and FLUs the wolves mainly used conspicuous substrates, whereas STUs and SQUs were carried out directly onto inconspicuous substrates. Wolves urinated on plants more than on other substrates, mostly selecting trees. A selection of trees according to their trunk diameter was also observed. The posts were chosen or avoided seemingly because of their specific characteristics such as size. In short, wolves marked with urine (RLUs and FLUs) those substrates that secured a greater effectiveness of marking. The mean duration of RLUs was lower than that of FLUs and SQUs. The rate of RLUs in males increased in winter (November-December) and in summer (July-August), while the rate of FLUs and SQUs in females and STUs in males did not increase during these periods. The wolves investigated RLUs more frequently than SQUs. The RLU display appears to be more ancestral than derived, similar in all species of canids and even in the Iberian wolf.
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