Olfactory communicatiaon : chemical characterization of the interdigital secretion of the black wildebeest, Connochaetes gnou

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The black wildebeest, Connochaetes gnou, is a terriorial animal and although it is notgenerally accepted, it is believed that it defines its territory by scent marking, usinginterdigital and preorbital secretions, faeces, and urine. The aim of this study was tocharacterize the chemical constituents of the interdigital secretion. Due to thecomplexity of the secretion, only one hundred and ten of the approximately 350compounds could be determined with known techniques. Gas chromatography, lowresolution GC-MS and retention-time comparison were the main analyticaltechniques used. Classes of compounds identified in the interdigital secretion includethe following:• Hydrocarbons - Aliphatic (saturated and unsaturated) and aromatic• Alcohols - Aliphatic (saturated, unsaturated, cyclic and diols)• Phenols and Phenylalkanols• Aldehydes - Aliphatic (saturated and unsaturated) and aromatic• Ketones - Aliphatic (saturated, unsaturated, cyclic and diketones) andaromatic• Hydroxy ketones - Aliphatic and cyclic• Carboxylic acids - Aliphatic (saturated, unsaturated and cyclic) andaromatic• An anhydride• Esters - Methyl esters, ethyl and higher esters, unsaturated esters andaromatic esters• Lactams• A steroidOnly small qualitative and quantitative differences were found between the male andfemale interdigital secretions.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University