From Exploration to Selective Information Gathering: The Development of Chemosensory Investigation in Male African Elephants (Loxodonta africana)

Schulte, Bruce A.; Bagley, Kathryn R.; Castelda, Stacie; Loizi, Helen; Nasseri, Nabil A.; Vyas, Dhaval K.; Goodwin, Thomas E.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-5927-9_10

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Studies on mammalian evolution (Rowe et al, 2011) and African elephant olfactory receptor genes (Nimura et al, 2014) have revealed the historical significance of odours to mammals and elephants in particular. Our understanding of olfaction in elephants has profited greatly from research in captive and wild settings, including the discovery of the oestrous pheromone [(Z)-7dodecen-1-yl acetate] and musth pheromone (frontalin) in Asian elephants (Rasmussen et al, 1997(Rasmussen et al, , 2016Rasmussen & Schulte, 1998;Rasmussen & Greenwood, 2003;Schulte et al, 2005Schulte et al, , 2013. Recent work with captive Asian elephants has investigated their ability to discriminate among structurally similar odours (Arvidsson et al, 2012;Rizvanovic et al, 2013), while another study conducted at numerous facilities in North America examined responses to varying concentration of the two known Asian elephant pheromones (LaDue et al, 2018).…”

Section: Elephant Sensesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zoo elephant research: contributions to conservation of captive and free‐ranging species

Bechert

Brown

Dierenfeld

et al. 2019

International Zoo Yearbook

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African elephants Loxodonta africana and Asian elephants Elephas maximus are not thriving in many captive settings and are threatened throughout their native ranges. Many zoos support in situ conservation projects and provide opportunities to conduct ex situ research in controlled settings with comparably approachable animals. Zoo elephant projects may facilitate fieldwork with free‐ranging elephants (e.g. development of non‐invasive sampling and analytical tools), which may then also improve the husbandry of elephants in human care. Free‐ranging elephants also benefit from drug therapies and veterinary care when they are orphaned, kept as working elephants or brought in as rehabilitation cases – especially as human–elephant conflicts become more common as a result of ever‐expanding human populations. Much has been learned about the basic biology and husbandry needs of elephants but, often, the more we learn, the more questions arise. There are physiological differences between African and Asian elephants, and this should affect the management of these animals. This paper will provide brief overviews of the current state of knowledge regarding the pharmacology, nutrition, reproduction, sensory biology and diseases (primarily elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus infections) relevant to elephants with recommendations for future research.

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Section: Elephant Sensesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zoo elephant research: contributions to conservation of captive and free‐ranging species

Bechert

Brown

Dierenfeld

et al. 2019

International Zoo Yearbook

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“…Similarly, adolescent male African elephants are more sociable in general than adults [ 28 ], and may perform more of these trunk behaviours to assist in establishing new contacts and initiating further affiliative interactions with social companions, a pattern also seen in other species that perform greeting behaviours [ 38 ]. Adolescent male African elephants also assess urine cues of conspecifics in the environment at greater rates than adults [ 53 ]. As part of the intense learning that is undergone in adolescence, adolescents may need to map phenotype features as well as individual identities (there is evidence elephants hold long term memory of individuals by their unique chemical signatures [ 18 , 54 , 55 ]) of particular same-sex conspecifics to their corresponding chemosignals via close contact olfactory assessments (trunk-to-SEO behaviours).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research found that the decline in olfactory investigation of urine cues in the environment from adolescence to adulthood in male African elephants is compensated for by adults only investigating relevant cues [ 53 ]. This was also supported in our study-most notably by the very low numbers of trunk-to-SEO behaviours being made of 10–15-year-olds by adult males.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Function of Trunk-Mediated “Greeting” Behaviours between Male African Elephants: Insights from Choice of Partners

Allen

Croft

Testard

et al. 2021

Animals

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A common behavioural interaction between male African elephants is for an actor to direct his trunk to contact a same sex conspecific’s mouth, temporal gland, or genital region. Such behaviours are often referred to as “greetings”. Along with its inherent tactile element, these behaviours also likely provide olfactory information to actors concerning aspects of the target’s phenotype, including sexual status, feeding history, individual identity, and emotional state. Here, we explore whether the age and novelty of potential interactors affect the choice of individuals targeted by male African elephants for these trunks to scent emitting organ (SEO) behaviours at social hotspots in a male-dominated area. Male elephants of all ages, except older adolescents aged 16–20 years, preferentially targeted elephants of the same age class for trunk-to-SEO behaviours. Elephants younger than 26 years did not direct trunk-to-SEO behaviours to mature bulls (26+ years) more than expected by chance, suggesting these behaviours are not primarily used for younger males to establish contact with, or obtain information from or about older, more experienced individuals. We also found no evidence that males directed these behaviours preferentially to new individuals they encountered at male aggregations (compared to those they arrived in groups with), suggesting these behaviours are not primarily employed by males as a reunion display to establish relationships between new individuals or update relationships between familiar individuals separated over time. Age-mates may be preferentially targeted with these behaviours as a means to facilitate further interaction with partners (e.g., for sparring activity), or as a safe way to assess relative dominance rank in similarly aged and hence, size and strength, matched dyads. Our results suggest male African elephants use close contact trunk-to-SEO behaviours continuously over time, to facilitate positive relationships, test willingness to interact, and assess aspects of phenotype, between males occupying the same ecological space.

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“…While the displays of main and accessory chemosensory behaviors are not limited to intraspecific communication, their correlation was elucidated through such studies. Using these behaviors, the chemosensory behavior of elephants in response to conspecific urine and feces from two populations-one in Tanzania and the other in South Africa-showed similar patterns across age and sex classes, although somewhat different patterns emerged developmentally between the sexes across the populations [80,83]. Interestingly, chemosensory response patterns in response to luteal and estrous conspecific urine were similar by male African elephants housed at facilities in North America to males in the wild [84].…”

Section: Intraspecific Chemical Signaling and Capabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

The Chemical Ecology of Elephants: 21st Century Additions to Our Understanding and Future Outlooks

Schulte

LaDue

2021

Animals

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Chemical signals are the oldest and most ubiquitous means of mediating intra- and interspecific interactions. The three extant species of elephants, the Asian elephant and the two African species, savanna and forest share sociobiological patterns in which chemical signals play a vital role. Elephants emit secretions and excretions and display behaviors that reveal the importance of odors in their interactions. In this review, we begin with a brief introduction of research in elephant chemical ecology leading up to the 21st century, and then we summarize the body of work that has built upon it and occurred in the last c. 20 years. The 21st century has expanded our understanding on elephant chemical ecology, revealing their use of odors to detect potential threats and make dietary choices. Furthermore, complementary in situ and ex situ studies have allowed the careful observations of captive elephants to be extended to fieldwork involving their wild counterparts. While important advances have been made in the 21st century, further work should investigate the roles of chemical signaling in elephants and how these signals interact with other sensory modalities. All three elephant species are threatened with extinction, and we suggest that chemical ecology can be applied for targeted conservation efforts.

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From Exploration to Selective Information Gathering: The Development of Chemosensory Investigation in Male African Elephants (Loxodonta africana)

Cited by 5 publications

References 37 publications

Zoo elephant research: contributions to conservation of captive and free‐ranging species

Zoo elephant research: contributions to conservation of captive and free‐ranging species

Function of Trunk-Mediated “Greeting” Behaviours between Male African Elephants: Insights from Choice of Partners

The Chemical Ecology of Elephants: 21st Century Additions to Our Understanding and Future Outlooks

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