North American beaver

Until recently, most of the chemical research on the contents of these structures was directed at the identification of the constituents of castoreum. In the late 1940s Lederer [72, 73] identified 36 compounds and some other incompletely characterized constituents in castoreum of uncertain origin. Other constituents were subsequently identified in the material [74-77]. In a reinvestigation aimed specifically at the phenol content of the material, Tang et al [69] identified 10 previously unreported phenols in the castoreum from the North American beaver, Castor canadensis. Of the 15 phenols reported elsewhere, only five were confirmed in this analysis, in addition to 10 phenolic compounds that were not reported elsewhere. It was concluded that the 10 previously identified phenols that were not found in the study by Tang et al. were either absent or were not volatile enough to be detected by the methods employed. This was most probably because a relatively low maximum column temperature of only 210 °C was employed in the GC-MS analyses. The compounds identified by Lederer,... 

Unlike most terrestrial mammals, beavers maintain territories along a line following watercourses. Both species, the Eurasian beaver, C. fiber, and the North American beaver, C. canadensis, dredge up mud from the bottom of their home pond, carry it on land, deposit it, and apply a scent mark on top of this mud... 

Free-ranging North American beaver. Castor canadensis, feed less on experimental aspen sticks that have been treated with extracts from predator excrement or urine. Odors from the sympatric coyote and river otter, and extirpated lynx, were most effective, while those from allopatric lion and extirpated wolf odor were less active. However, these response differences between species were small (Fig. 12.2 Engelhart and Muller-Schwarze 1995). 

The scent glands of the North American beaver. Castor canadensis, contain the alkaloid castoramine which has been shown to be a hydroxy derivative of desoxynupharidine and is convertible into the latter (41). The hydroxyl is hydrogen-bonded to the nitrogen and this gave the first... 

Schulte, B. A., 1993, Chemical Communication and Ecology of the North American Beaver (Castor canadensis), Ph.D. thesis. State University of New York, Syracuse, New York. 

I am not aware of any other systematic attempt to investigate the complete repertoire of individually distinctive odors within a species, although more than one source of such cues has often been studied. For example, experiments with the dwarf mongoose suggest that the anal gland secretion is individually distinctive whereas the cheek gland secretion is not (Gorman, 1976 Rasa, 1973). Similarly, in both black-tailed dear and the North American beaver, one source of odor has been shown to be individually distinctive but other secretions are not (Muller-Schwarze, 1974 MUller-Schwarze, 1999). It is... 

Tang, R., Webster, F.X., and Muller-Schwarze, D. 1993. Phenolic compounds from male castoreum of the North American beaver. Castor canadensis. J. Chem. Ecol. 19, 1491—1500. 

Wairo, J. M. Svendsen, G. E. 1982. Castor sacs and anal glands of the North American beaver Castor canadensis). J. Chem. Ecol., 8, 809-819. 

The ideal way to bioassay a mammalian pheromone is to experiment with freely moving animals in a natural setting, and intact social units. The year-round family territories of the North American beaver. Castor canadensis, provide such an opportunity. Being largely nocturnal, beaver have depended on their chemical senses for social communication, food selection, and possibly other behaviors such as orientation in space, and predator detection and avoidance. 

We now report results from a field experiment with fractions of a territorial odor of the North American beaver. Castor canadensis. 

Epple, G., J.R. Mason, E. Aronov, D.L. Nolte, R.A. Hartz, R. Kaloostian, D.L. Campbell A.B. Smith. 1995. Foraging responses to natural and synthetic predator cues in Aplodontia rufa, the North American mountain beaver. Ecol. Appl. 5 1163-1170. 

The American mink (Mustela vison) occurs throughout most of North America, except for parts of the arid southwest. This species lives in the vicinity of a wide range of aquatic habitats. Mink make their dens in hollows in fallen logs and under stumps, and in burrows taken over from a muskrat or beaver. 

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