Scent age

Is a Difference in Scent Age Sufficient for Differential Memory for One IndividuaPs Scent Mark ... 

If one individual deposits a scent mark on top of the mark of another individual, then the top scent is necessarily fresher (more recent) than the scent that was deposited first. Thus, relative scent age is one way that mammals (or other species) could evaluate scent over-marks to determine which animal had marked most recently. The hypothesis that mammals use scent age as the relevant cue is attractive because it is already known that changes in odor quality may provide information about scent age. Although there has been little research that demonstrates how individuals of any species perceive or use this information, it is clear that some rodents respond differently to fresher versus older scents (Johnston Lee, 1976 Johnston Schmidt, 1979 Wellington et al., 1981 Ferkin et al., 1995a). There is also evidence suggesting that dogs may be able to determine the direction of a human scent trail by differences in scent quality due to differences in age of footprints along the trail (Steen Wilsson, 1990). 

In China some teas, such as Pu-er tea, are made through microbial fermentation and called post-fermented teas. The typical characteristic of these teas is a mouldy or aged flavour the more intense this flavour, the better the quality. Other kinds of tea, such as white, yellow and dark, are produced in small quantities and consumed locally. Further processing of these teas produces scented and brick teas. 

Epple G., Alveario M.C., Golob N.F. and Smith A.B. (1980). Stability and attractiveness related to age of scent marks of Saddle-Back Tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis). J Chem Ecol 6, 735-748. 

There s much less of him to hug than there was five years ago, and underneath the oily resin scent of ink and the cleanness of shaving soap he smells of old age. He was never tall now he s no taller than me. 

As the chemical industry expanded, Perkin continued his own scientific research in the peace of his private laboratory. He had not lost his touch. Among the synthetic methods he discovered is one now called the Perkin reaction. He used it to make a synthetic substitute for a vegetable substance called coumarin, which has a pleasant, vanillalike odor. Coumarin spawned the synthetic perfume business and made luxurious scents available to all. Once again, a Perkin chemical started a new industry, albeit a modest one in comparison with dyes and pharmaceuticals. Despite the worldwide impact of Perkins discoveries, he was not knighted by the British monarchy until 1906, the fiftieth anniversary of his discovery of mauve. The world chemistry community feted him lavishly that year, and he traveled to the United States collecting further honors. A year later, at the age of 69, he died peacefully, at home. 

Age of the Subject and Scent Donor Affects the Amount of Time that Voles Self-Groom When They are Exposed to Odors of Opposite-sex Conspecifics... 

Much of the current data show that individuals spend different amounts of time self-grooming when they encounter particular opposite-sex conspecifics or their odors (Ferkin 2005, 2006 Ferkin and Leonard 2005). Thus, it is likely that an individual s age will also influence the amount of self-grooming. For instance, a study on meadow voles indicated that 12-13 mo old males spent more time than 2-3 and 8-9 mo old males investigating the scent marks of female conspecifics (Ferkin 1999). This study also found that and 8-9 mo-old female voles spent more time investigating the scent marks of 12-13 mo-old males than those of 8-9 mo-old and 2-3 mo-old males younger males (Ferkin 1999). These findings suggest that older male voles may be more interested in and attractive to females as compared... 

In the present study, we investigate whether the age of the subject and the scent donor affects the amount of time an individual self-grooms in response to the odors of opposite-sex conspecifics. In doing so, we have two main objectives. The first objective is to test the hypothesis that age of the groomer affects the amount of time that it spends self-grooming in response to odors of opposite-sex conspecifics (experiment 1). The second objective is to test the hypothesis that age of the scent donor affects the amount of time opposite-sex conspecifics self-groom when exposed to its odors (experiment 2). 

We measured the amount of time that 2-3, 8-9 and 12-13 mo old male and female meadow voles spent self-grooming when exposed to an 8 g piece of cotton nesting material scented by opposite-sex conspecifics that were either 2-3, 8-9 or 12-13 mo old. There were 12 different male and female subjects and 16 different opposite-sex scent donors used for each odor condition. Each subject underwent three selfgrooming tests, one test for each of the three age classes of scent donors. The order of the three tests was random. Subjects were not used as scent donors and vice versa. Scent donors and subjects were similar in size to one another (within 7 g) and were not related or familiar to one another. 

We found that sex differences existed in the time that 2-3, 8-9,12-13 mo old voles self-groomed in response to cotton scented by opposite-sex conspedfics. Specifically, 12 mo old males spent significantly more time self-grooming in response to the odors of females aged 2-3 and 8-9 mo than to those aged 12-13 mo. These... 

Overall, the present study supports the hypothesis that age of the groomer and the scent donor affects the amount of time that individuals self-groom in response to odors of opposite-sex conspecifics. If we compare data from this study with... 

In addition to the simultaneous impact of an odor mixture, differential evaporation may alter the signal over time, indicating the age of a scent. As an example, the major component of the chest gland secretion of the thick-tailed galago. Galago crassicaudatus, is benzylcyanide. It evaporates rapidly and is present for only about 1 hour. The other two identified compounds last for several days. In a behavioral corollary, galagos retreat from a scent mark that is less than 1 hour old, while older marks have no such effect (Katsir and Crewe, 1980). 

F erkin and Johnston (1995 a) aged anogenital area scent and odor from the posterolateral region in meadow voles Micmtuspennsylvanicus) for 15 minutes to 30 days. Males preferred female to male anogenital odor if it was 10 days old or less. Females preferred male to female anogenital odor if its age was 25 days or less. Both sexes preferred posterolateral odor of males to that of females if it was up to 1 day of age. In a second experiment, both sexes preferred fresh odors from either source over the same scents that were older. In conclusion, information about sex may get lost with the age of the scent mark. 

---