Toward a functional interpretation of scent marking in the beaver (Castor canadensis)

Butler, Ronald G.; Butler, Linda A.

doi:10.1016/s0163-1047(79)91464-x

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Thus, these findings are in accordance with our first prediction. We found, however, no significant correlation between the number of scent markings and distance to the nearest neighbors main resting-site, as found by other authors (Butler and Butler, 1979;Müller-Schwarze and Heckman, 1980;Svendsen, 1980a;Houlihan, 1989).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

“…That the number of scent markings is density dependent has previously been shown for both C. canadensis (Butler and Butler, 1979;Müller-Schwarze and Heckman, 1980;Houlihan, 1989) and C. fiber (Andersson and Westerling, 1984). Thus when beaver have many close neighbors they apparently need to scent mark more often to be unambiguously recognized.…”

mentioning

confidence: 72%

“…and both sexes participate in marking the territory boundaries at scent mounds close to the water's edge (Aleksiuk, 1968;Wilsson 1971;Butler and Butler, 1979;Svendsen, 1980a). Beaver mounds are marked with urine and castoreum from the castor sacs, and possibly with anal gland secretion (Bollinger, 1980;Schulte, et al 1994; see also Müller-Schwarze and Houlihan, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Factors Affecting Scent-Marking Behavior in Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber)

Rosell¹,

Nolet²

1997

J Chem Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-We tested the hypothesis that a main function of territory marking in European beaver (Castor fiber) is defence of the territory. The results showed that:1) beaver colonies with close neighbors scent-mark more often than isolated ones; 2) the number of scent markings increased significantly with the number of neighboring territories and individuals, the mean distance to all other territories, duration of territory occupancy and length of wooded banks within the territory; 3) the number of scent markings by a colony was not related to the number of animals in the colony, the distance to nearest neighbors main restingsite or age of beaver; 4) the number of scent mounds or scent markings in territories with breeding and non-breeding beaver did not differ; 5) there was no significant difference in the number of scent markings during the season (16 April -31 August); and 6) some of the scent mounds were concentrated at feeding-sites, resting-sites and near trails, but most had no apparent relationship to any of these sites. Therefore we concluded that scent marking apparently plays an important role in territory defence of the European beaver.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 64%

mentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Factors Affecting Scent-Marking Behavior in Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber)

Rosell¹,

Nolet²

1997

J Chem Ecol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is in accordance with our first prediction and in agreement with earlier studies for both species of beaver (e.g. Butler and Butler, 1979;Müller-Schwarze and Heckman, 1980;Rosell and Nolet, 1997;Svendsen, 1980b). The random observation of the apparently dispersing beaver from colony 7 was analogous to that described by Hodgdon (1978) for a beaver dispersing through an occupied territory.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Both castoreum from the castor sacs and/or oil from the anal glands are secreted onto small piles of mud and debris close to the water's edge (Wilsson, 1971;Svendsen, 1980b;Rosell and Nolet, 1997), though castoreum is probably used the most (Bollinger, 1980;Tang et al, 1993;Schulte et al, 1994). All age classes and both adults mark within the territory (Aleksiuk, 1968;Wilsson, 1971;Butler and Butler, 1979;Svendsen, 1980b;Buech, 1995).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

Rosell

Bergan

Parker

1998

Journal of Chemical Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract-Beaver (Castor spp.) normally scent mark by depositing castoreum and/or anal gland secretion on scent mounds close to the water's edge. The aim of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that the Eurasian beaver (C. fiber) scent marks as a means of territory defense. Scent marking behavior was studied during an entire year (1 April 1995 -31 March 1996) in 7 adjacent territories along 9.2 km of the Bø River in Telemark County, Norway. The number and location of fresh scent marks were recorded biweekly. The main results showed that:1) the number of scent marks in territories was significantly higher in spring, when dispersal of subadults normally occurs, than during the rest of the year; 2) the number of scent marks was clumped near territorial borders; and 3) the number of scent marks were significantly greater upstream than downstream of the lodge.

show abstract

Beaver response to recurrent alien scents: scent fence or scent match?

Sun

Müller-Schwarze

1998

Animal Behaviour

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Toward a functional interpretation of scent marking in the beaver (Castor canadensis)

Cited by 29 publications

References 9 publications

Factors Affecting Scent-Marking Behavior in Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber)

Factors Affecting Scent-Marking Behavior in Eurasian Beaver (Castor fiber)

Untitled

Beaver response to recurrent alien scents: scent fence or scent match?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About