Recognition of burrow's olfactory signature in blue petrels, Halobaena caerulea: an efficient discrimination mechanism in the dark

Bonadonna, Francesco; Villafane, M.; Bajzak, Catherine; Jouventin, Pierre

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.08.013

Cited by 74 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Our study is, to our knowledge, the first to demonstrate that not only nocturnal colony-breeding birds [7,9,24] but also the fledged juveniles of a diurnal passerine bird species use olfactory cues for nest recognition. It has been proposed that it is primarily nocturnal species that use olfactory cues for nest recognition [9] to compensate for limited visual options.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Odour-based natal nest recognition in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a colony-breeding songbird

Caspers

Krause

2010

Biol. Lett.

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Passerine birds have an extensive repertoire of olfactory receptor genes. However, the circumstances in which passerine birds use olfactory signals are poorly understood. The aim of this study is to investigate whether olfactory cues play a role in natal nest recognition in fledged juvenile passerines. The natal nest provides fledglings with a safe place for sleeping and parental food provisioning. There is a particular demand in colony-breeding birds for fledglings to be able to identify their nests because many pairs breed close to each other. Olfactory orientation might thus be of special importance for the fledglings, because they do not have a visual representation of the nest site and its position in the colony when leaving the nest for the first time. We investigated the role of olfaction in nest recognition in zebra finches, which breed in dense colonies of up to 50 pairs. We performed odour preference tests, in which we offered zebra finch fledglings their own natal nest odour versus foreign nest odour. Zebra finch fledglings significantly preferred their own natal nest odour, indicating that fledglings of a colony breeding songbird may use olfactory cues for nest recognition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Olfactory signals play an important role in orientation (pigeons: [3]; catbirds: [5]; Antarctic prions: [6]; blue petrels: [7][8]) and social communication, especially in procellariiformes [9 -11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Odour-based natal nest recognition in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a colony-breeding songbird

Caspers

Krause

2010

Biol. Lett.

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“…Bonadonna & Bretagnolle (2002) have found that only birds nesting in burrows and returning to the nest at night require an intact sense of smell to relocate their burrows, whereas birds nesting on the ground or returning in the daylight can accurately locate their home even if they are anosmic. In subsequent Y-maze experiments, several species of burrowing petrels (blue petrels, thin-billed prion, and Antarctic prions Pachiptila desolata) required olfaction to recognize their home burrow (Bonadonna et al 2003b(Bonadonna et al ,c, 2004. These results parallel our foraging model in that: (1) birds that nest on the ground use a combination of cues (visual, acoustic, and perhaps olfactory) to locate the nest site, whereas (2) birds that nest in burrows and return to the colony at night require olfaction to relocate the burrow.…”

Section: Adaptations Of the Fish Lateral Line For The Analysis Of Hydmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory biology: linking the internal and external ecologies of marine organisms

Weissburg¹,

Browman²

2005

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Contributions to this Theme Section (TS) articulate an increasingly powerful synthesis in ecology: understanding animal perceptual abilities lends insight into ecological interactions that, in turn, determine fundamental properties of populations of organisms and communities. This synthesis, often referred to as sensory ecology (e.g. Dusenbery 1992), has its antecedents in diverse fields ranging from sensory physiology, behavior and behavioral ecology, to classical population ecology (e.g. Lythgoe 1979, Dusenbery 1992, Endler 2000. However, it is unique in the explicit recognition that the capacity of organisms to acquire information from the environment is an essential determinant of ecological function. Thus, sensory ecology acts as the disciplinary interface between the processes occurring within organisms and those occurring between organisms and their environment.The sub-discipline of sensory ecology is a relatively new endeavour. Although sensory physiology, behavior and ecology are all well established areas that have made substantial contributions to our understanding of the natural world, there is a distinct lack of studies that link the inner and outer ecologies of animals. The explanation for this may lie in a historical tendency to pursue specialized knowledge within a given level of inquiry at the expense of synthesis across levels (see Saarinen 1980). Whereas sensory physiologists largely address the mechanisms operating within organisms Meganyctiphanes norvegica. Knowing which sensory modes the Northern krill uses to locate prey is central to evaluations of its feeding ecology. This Theme Section presents case studies that demonstrate how sensory biology is required to mechanistically link the organism's internal and external ecologies and, thereby, to make well-founded and accurate predictions about key processes in marine ecology. Photo copyright Uwe Kils, Rutgers University. Used by permission Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherMar Ecol Prog Ser 287: 2005 (or their cells), ecologists have often treated animals as black boxes whose inner workings are mysterious, irrelevant or assumed. Of course, it is not always necessary to understand how animals do things in order to advance the science of ecology. The importance of predation as a force structuring natural communities is plain even in the absence of detailed knowledge of how animals find their prey. Equally clear, however, is that information on perceptual mechanisms is sometimes indispensable for arriving at valid conclusions. For example, optimal foraging theory has been a useful heuristic tool, but has been less successful in predicting ecological outcomes, in part, because assumptions of perceptual capabilities (e.g. instantaneous recognition of prey types and their energetic value) are often unrealistic (Krebs & Davies 1991).As documented in the contributions to this TS, a firm appreciation of sensory biology can provide insights into animal distributions, relationships among competitors, pat...

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“…The blue petrel (Halobaena caerulea) is a monogamous seabird with a particularly good sense of smell [18][19][20] that has been shown to preferentially mate with partners dissimilar at the MHC class II loci [9]. In this monomorphic species, males and females share parental duties equally [21,22], and mate choice is therefore thought to be reciprocal.…”

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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Recognition of burrow's olfactory signature in blue petrels, Halobaena caerulea: an efficient discrimination mechanism in the dark

Cited by 74 publications

References 25 publications

Odour-based natal nest recognition in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a colony-breeding songbird

Odour-based natal nest recognition in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), a colony-breeding songbird

Sensory biology: linking the internal and external ecologies of marine organisms

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

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