Behavioral studies mammals

Reading the literature on mammalian semiochemistry over the past decade, a chemist is impressed by the enormous volume of biological information that has been gathered in well planned and meticulously executed studies of the modulation of the behavior of mammals by the chemicals released by con-specifics. One cannot, however, escape the impression that the chemical basis of many of these studies is lacking. Some of the problem areas were pointed out in the foregoing sections. To a certain extent there seems to be lack of appreciation of the diffusion rates of compounds with different volatilities and of the extent to which these differences can influence the outcome of behavioral tests. It is difficult to make an estimate of the persistence of semiochemicals that are released into the laboratory atmosphere or that are left on objects or surfaces in arenas in which tests are conducted. From what is known about the evaporation rate of some heavy compounds that are considered to be semiochemicals, it could take several weeks or even months for these compounds to be depleted to levels that cannot be detected by currently available instrumentation levels at which meaningful information could still be available to experimental animals. This then leaves the question unanswered as to when it would be safe to conduct behavioral experiments in a laboratory or arena that had been occupied by conspecifics. 

Two new techniques for the analysis, i.e. identification and quantification, of chemical compounds in animal secretions and excretions offer decisive advancements in investigations of mammals whose social actions and reproduction are well-known behaviorally. The largest terrestrial herbivores, elephants, with an enormous impact on other nearby animals and on their habitat, have been the focus of extensive behavioral studies involving both wild and captive populations. In both the Asian and African... 

Of all behavioral studies of vertebrates, those of small mammals have shown the widest use of radionuclide tagging. Perhaps this is the result of the relatively small home range of these mammals as well as the interest of population ecologists in interpreting the population dynamics of this group. Gerrard (1969) reported 36 studies that utilized external or subcutaneous radionuclide marking... 

The vomeronasal system, also known as the accessory olfactory system, consists of chemoreceptors, organized into the VNO, the vomeronasal nerve, its terminal, the accessory olfactory bulb, and more central pathways. First described by Jacobson in 1811, the VNO has been studied intensely. We now know how stimuli reach it and what behaviors it mediates. The VNO occurs in amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Among mammals, it is best developed in marsupials and monotremes. In birds it only appears during embryogenesis. The VNO and its function are best known for squamate reptiles, particularly snakes, and rodents and ungulates among the mammals. 

Carter, C. S., Getz, L. L., and Cohen-Parsons, M. (1986). Relationships between social organization and behavioral endocriology in a monogramous mammal. Advances in the Study of Behavior 16,109-146. 

Individual odors among mammals origins and functions. Advances in the Study of Behavior 16,39-70. 

In human beings and most mammals, affiliation is an essential part of the life process, as it is necessary for both reproduction and survival. There are nonetheless instances in nature of profound lack of affiliative behavior. For example, children with autism spectrum disorders have significant difficulties in social skills, including lack of positive reinforcement from social interaction, poor eye gaze, impairment in social interactions, difficulties in attachment, and difficulties in nonverbal and, often, verbal communication. Deficits of this kind have led us to the study of the neurobiology underlying attachment and affiliation. 

Both Pu and Th will probably enter the skeleton and other internal tissues predominantly from inhalation. This statement is based on the fact that in the field, Pu and Th demonstrate similar transfers from soil to small mammals and laboratory studies demonstrate similar metabolic characteristics (1,3,23). Soil chemical behavior is also similar (20). As demonstrated in Table I, natural Th in human bone originates largely from inhalation, even assuming that adsorption from the diet is 0.1%. Another strong agrument for the importance of inhalation is found in tissue distributions of Th-232 and Th-230 in humans. Table V summarizes work by Wrenn, et al. (53) which shows that lungs of non-occupationally exposed individuals contains burdens of Th isotopes comparable to the skeleton. Thorium-228 distributions are different from Th-230,... 

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