[摘要] The new data in (
Douglas 2008b) reveal that there is still much to be learned from the auklet system. If scent acts as a dynamic indicator trait (e.g.,
Hill et al. 1999) during the social interactions of Crested Auklets (see
Jones et al. 2004,
Hagelin 2007b,
Douglas 2008b), one might expect high levels of individual, seasonal, and geographic variation in odor concentration. Preliminary analyses in our lab, for example, have detected 15- to 60-fold differences in concentration between feather samples collected at different sites during different seasons. Odor concentration also appears to vary between age classes (
Sealy 2006) and between different captive populations (
Douglas et al. 2001,
Hagelin et al. 2003,
Douglas 2008b), which suggests that scent could be linked to development or, perhaps, environmental factors such as diet. We find the prospects for research on these and other questions exciting, and we welcome productive discussions with Douglas and others on such topics in the future.
