For bats, olfactory signals are necessary for communication. The variety of scents produced in bats is very diverse, and in most cases males produce a larger and more diverse variety of odors. This mostly occurs during the mating season. These chemical signals also play important roles in attraction, individual recognition, and mate selection. There are a few species of bats that have been found to produce smelly sebaceous secretions in their interscapular region. This is referred to as a sebaceous or dorsal patch, and is prominent only during the mating season.
A study was done to evaluate the differences between body traits of males with and without dorsal patches. Males with a dorsal patch had larger testes , were lighter, and were less parasitized. These changes make males more attractive to females. Males will often smear several body fluids on their dorsal patch. These odors might signal readiness to mate. The combo of chemicals from saliva, urogenital fluids, feces, and glandular secretions provide each individual with a unique odor signature. This way individual males can be identified.
Dorsal patches could signal male quality and readiness for mating. They send a signal to females that a male is higher quality and ready to mate. The dorsal patch may also send a cue to females that the male is sexually mature. Females are more likely to mate with males with a better developed dorsal patch. There are no known disadvantages to having a dorsal patch. However, more testing needs to be done to fully understand the relationship between seasonal reproduction, dorsal patch development, body fluid usage, and mating success.
link to article: http://www.bioone.org.silk.library.umass.edu:2048/doi/full/10.1644/08-MAMM-A-324.1
Posted by: Emily Crete
revised 10/24/09
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ReplyDeleteWell that have been one smelly study to conduct! Did the authors write anything about female responses to these signals? Do they try to mate more with the males that have a larger dorsal patch or one with more odors? Or are they a monogamous species and mate with one male and seek out his unique scent? Does this signal just signal to the females that the male is just ready to mate (i.e. to distinguish between juveniles and adult males)? Very interesting!
ReplyDeletePosted by Christine Rega
Emily, I found your article very interesting! It would seem like this dorsal patch would increase these bats' reproductive success, but it would be interesting to see if the cost of having this patch was beneficial or not for the bats. Do the changes observed in the males with dorsal patches (ie. larger testes, lighter, less parasitized) make them more attractive to females also? or is the dorsal patch and scent the most attractive? It would be interesting to see what observations about bat's reproductive success/desirable traits have been verified in the past, and the differences now with these new developments.
ReplyDelete--Kathleen Goller
Interesting article. Are there any disadvantages to having a dorsal patch in bats? I found it interesting that the bats are more successful reproductively and are less prone to carry parasites. Do bats with a small dorsal patches have more parasites and what does the dorsal patch have to do(physiologically) with the bats overall health?
ReplyDelete-Carlos (week 4)
to me, this is an article that makes scene. I can see how olfactory signals are necessary for communication in long-nosed bats because they are nocturnal creatures. i did find it to be a little gross that the males smear several body fluids on their dorsal patch to attracted females during matting season. it is interesting to think that each bat makes up sort of his own "cocktail" of fluids so that he can personalize his own sent. besides the traits listed, what other traits are females more attracted to?
ReplyDelete-Stephen Chiricosta