To fix or not to fix: The role of 2-phenoxyethanol in rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, chin gland secretion

The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) uses the secretion of the chin gland to maintain dominance hierarchies in the wild. Recent work has investigated changes in the secretion when social status is manipulated in the rabbit. When a rabbit becomes dominant, a new compound appears in his secreti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical ecology 2003-05, Vol.29 (5), p.1051-1064
Main Authors: HAYES, R. A, RICHARDSON, B. J, WYLLIE, S. G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Anti-Infective Agents, Local - pharmacology
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Ethylene Glycols - pharmacology
Exocrine Glands
Fixatives - pharmacology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Male
Mammalia
Pheromones - chemistry
Pheromones - pharmacology
Rabbits
Smell
Social Behavior
Social Dominance
Vertebrata
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Summary:The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) uses the secretion of the chin gland to maintain dominance hierarchies in the wild. Recent work has investigated changes in the secretion when social status is manipulated in the rabbit. When a rabbit becomes dominant, a new compound appears in his secretion, 2-phenoxyethanol. This compound is used as a fixative in the perfume industry. This study investigates whether the compound performs a similar function in the secretion of the rabbit. 2-Phenoxyethanol is not detected olfactorially by rabbits, and slows the release rate of some of the compounds that occur naturally in rabbit chin gland secretion. We suggest that when a rabbit becomes dominant, he adds a fixative to his secretion so that his scent will persist in the environment and not dissipate. He will thus come to dominate the olfactory environment, in much the same way as he does the physical environment.
ISSN:0098-0331
1573-1561
DOI:10.1023/A:1023836319677