Odor-Based Recognition of Familiar and Related Conspecifics: A First Test Conducted on Captive Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti)

Coffin, Heather R.; Watters, Jason V.; Mateo, Jill M.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0025002

Cited by 66 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…Coffin et al (2011) found that Humboldt penguins were able to differentiate between kin and non-kin using odours. Other studies on Procellariiforms suggest similar abilities in the penguin's closest relatives.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and F.B., unpublished results). Interestingly, work by Coffin et al (2011) suggested that Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus demersus) could recognize kin using olfactory cues alone suggesting a non-foraging role for olfaction in penguins. This should not be surprising, since the penguins' closest relatives, the Procellariiforms (Hackett et al, 2008), appear to use olfaction in a social context (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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King penguins can detect two odours associated with conspecifics

Cunningham

Bonadonna

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Recent studies on olfaction in penguins have focused on their use of odours while foraging. It has been proposed for some seabirds that an olfactory landscape shaped by odours coming from feeding areas exists. Islands and colonies, however, may also contribute to the olfactory landscape and may act as an orienting map. To test sensitivities to a colony scent we studied whether King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) could detect the smell of sand, feathers or feces by holding presentations beneath their beaks while they naturally slept on the beach. Penguins had a significantly greater response to the feathers and feces presentations than to sand. Although only a first step in exploring a broader role of olfaction in this species, our results raise the possibility of olfaction being used by King penguins in three potential ways: (1) locating the colony from the water or the shore, (2) finding the rendezvous zone within the colony where a chick or partner may be found, or (3) recognizing individuals by scent, as in Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus demersus).

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

King penguins can detect two odours associated with conspecifics

Cunningham

Bonadonna

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Kin recognition through olfactory signals has also been recently investigated in other species including Humboldt penguins ( Spheniscus humboldti ) (Coffin et al, 2011), zebra finches (Caspers et al, 2013; Krause et al, 2012), and European storm petrels (Bonadonna and Sanz-Aguilar, 2012). In these experiments, the birds themselves were asked to discriminate between odors coming from related and non-related individuals, and while all were able to discriminate between kin and non-kin individuals, the behavior was dissimilar according to the species.…”

Section: Importance Of Chemosignals In Successive Reproductive Stagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The perfume of reproduction in birds: Chemosignaling in avian social life

Samuel

Balthazart²,

Bonadonna

2015

Hormones and Behavior

103

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Chemical cues were probably the first cues ever used to communicate and are still ubiquitous among living organisms. Birds have long been considered an exception: it was believed that birds were anosmic and relied on their acute visual and acoustic capabilities. Birds are however excellent smellers and use odors in various contexts including food searching, orientation, but also breeding. Successful reproduction in most vertebrates involves the exchange of complex social signals between partners. The first evidence for a role of olfaction in reproductive contexts in birds only dates back to the seventies, when ducks were shown to require a functional sense of smell to express normal sexual behaviors. Nowadays, even if the interest for olfaction in birds has largely increased, the role that bodily odors play in reproduction still remains largely understudied. The few available studies however suggest that olfaction is involved in many reproductive stages. Odors have been shown to influence the choice and synchronization of partners, the choice of nest-building material or the care for the eggs and offspring. How this chemical information is translated at the physiological level mostly remain to be described, although available evidence suggests that, as in mammals, key reproductive brain areas like the medial preoptic nucleus are activated by relevant olfactory signals. Olfaction in birds receives increasing attention and novel findings are continuously published, but many exciting discoveries are still ahead of us, and could make birds one of the animal classes with the largest panel of developed senses ever described.

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“…For instance, in species as diverse as humans, bank voles (Myodes glareolus), sand lizards (Lazerta agilis) and house mice (Mus musculus), females prefer the scent of MHC-dissimilar males [6,10,11,13]. In birds, although European storm petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus), Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) and zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) can discriminate kinship based on odour cues [14][15][16] and the scent secretions of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) covary with MHC similarity [17], the ability of birds to assess MHC similarity using olfactory cues has not yet been explored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Odour-based discrimination of similarity at the major histocompatibility complex in birds

et al. 2017

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Many animals are known to preferentially mate with partners that are dissimilar at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in order to maximize the antigen binding repertoire (or disease resistance) in their offspring. Although several mammals, fish or lizards use odour cues to assess MHC similarity with potential partners, the ability of birds to assess MHC similarity using olfactory cues has not yet been explored. Here we used a behavioural binary choice test and high-throughput-sequencing of MHC class IIB to determine whether blue petrels can discriminate MHC similarity based on odour cues alone. Blue petrels are seabirds with particularly good sense of smell, they have a reciprocal mate choice and are known to preferentially mate with MHC-dissimilar partners. Incubating males preferentially approached the odour of the more MHC-dissimilar female, whereas incubating females showed opposite preferences. Given their mating pattern, females were, however, expected to show preference for the odour of the more MHC-dissimilar male. Further studies are needed to determine whether, as in women and female mice, the preference varies with the reproductive cycle in blue petrel females. Our results provide the first evidence that birds can use odour cues only to assess MHC dissimilarity.

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Odor-Based Recognition of Familiar and Related Conspecifics: A First Test Conducted on Captive Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti)

Cited by 66 publications

References 26 publications

King penguins can detect two odours associated with conspecifics

King penguins can detect two odours associated with conspecifics

The perfume of reproduction in birds: Chemosignaling in avian social life

Odour-based discrimination of similarity at the major histocompatibility complex in birds

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