Chemical Signals in Vertebrates 4

This volume reviews recent developments in our understanding of che~ ical signaling in vertebrates. After sections dealing with general princi­ ples and chemical aspects of vertebrate pheromones, it follows a taxonomic approach, progressing from fish to. mammals. The editors asked a diverse, international group of leading investigators, working on a wide array of vertebrate taxa and specific issues, to consider their efforts from compar­ ative, evolutionary, and ecological viewpoints. The relative number of manuscripts in each part does not necessarily reflect current intensity of research, since the editors invited speakers who together would provide a balanced and comprehensive overview, while avoiding duplication. Still, the part on mammals is the longest. Fourth in a series dating from 1977, this volume illuminates current trends and likely future developments in the field of chemical signaling in vertebrates. Going back even farther, the first chapter, a personal account of the past quarter century by Dr. Mykytowycz recalls the most important milestones, such as symposia, or the founding of societies and journals. He also credits those investigators who stand out by their seminal studies.

One: Some General Considerations.- A Quarter of a Century of Studies of Chemical Communication in Vertebrates.- The Tetrapod Epidermis: A System Protoadapted as a Semiochemical Source.- Mammalian Semiochemistry: Issues and Futures, with some Examples from a Study of Chemical Signalling in Cattle.- Motor Patterns Dedicated to Sensory Functions.- Two: Chemistry.- Chemical Control of Feeding in Herbivorous and Carnivorous Fish.- Characteristics of Earthworm Washings Detected by the Vomeronasal System of Snakes.- Chemical and Biological Investigations of Female Mouse Pheromones.- Behavioral Function and Chemistry of Volatiles From Feces and Anal Secretions of House Mice, Mus musculus - A Preliminary Report.- Three: Fishes.- The Evolution of Chemical Alarm Signals in Fishes.- Fish Reproductive Pheromones.- Chemosensory Orientation Mechanisms of Fish.- Release of Spawning Pheromone(s) by Naturally-ovulated and Prostaglandin-injected, Nonovulated Female Goldfish.- The Structural and Functional Relationships Between Olfactory and Reproductive Systems From Birth to Old Age in Fish.- Four: Amphibians.- The Evolution of Salamander Courtship Pheromones.- Pheromonal Markers as Territorial Advertisement By Terrestrial Salamanders.- The Recognition and Use of Chemical Signals By a Nesting Salamander.- Evolution of Chemical Signals as a Premating Isolating Mechanism in a Complex of Terrestrial Salamanders.- Chemical Ecology of Kin Recognition in Anuran Amphibians.- Five: Reptiles.- Pheromones and Reproduction in Garter Snakes.- The Role of Pheromone Trails in the Sociobiology Of Snakes.- Pheromone Mimicry in Garter Snakes.- Initial Den Location by Neonatal Prairie Rattlesnakes: Functions, Causes, and Natural History in Chemical Ecology.- Exploratory Tongue Flicking by Green Iguanas In Laboratory and Field.- Lizard Pheromones: Behavioral Resnonses and Adaptive Significance in Skinks of the Genus Eumeces.- Chemoreception in the Homing and Orientation Behavior of Amphibians and Reptiles, with Special Reference To Sea Turtles.- Six: Birds.- The Ecological and Evolutionary Challenges Of Procellariiform Olfaction.- Chemoreception and the Selection of Green Plants as Nest Fumigants by Starlings.- Seven: Mammals.- Economic Consequences of Scent Marking in Mammalian Territoriality.- Chemical Signals and Kin Recognition in Spiny Mice (Acomys cahirinus).- Genetic Basis for Individual Discriminations: The Major Histocompatibility Complex of the Mouse.- The Suppression of Ovarian Function By Chemosignals.- The Evolutionary Significance of the Olfactory Block to Pregnancy.- Puberty-Influencing Chemosignals in House Mice: Ecological and Evolutionary Considerations.- The Puberty Delaying Pheromone of the House Mouse: Field Data and a New Evolutionary Perspective.- Effects of Genotype, Social Interaction, and Testosterone on Esterases in Male Mouse Urine.- The Mammalian Vomeronasal System: Its Role in Learning and Social Behaviors.- Olfactory Communication Among Rats: Information Concerning Distant Diets.- Alarm Chemosignals in a Meriones unguiculatus: Prey-Predator Interactions.- Avoidance Response of Pocket Gophers (Thomomys talpoides) to Mustelid Anal Gland Compounds.- The Comparative Responses of Mice and Voles To Conspecific and Heterospecific Odors in The Field - A Lesson in Social Behavior.- Morphometric Patterns Among Microtine Rodents. I. Sexual Selection Suggested by Relative Scent Gland Development in Representative Voles (Microtus).- Female-induced Delay of Puberty in Bank Vole and European Pine Vole Females.- Familial Chemosignals Interfere with Reproductive Activation in Female Pine Voles, Microtus pinetorum.- Odor Images: Responses of Beaver to Castoreum Fractions.- Scent-marking in Pikas (Ochotona princeps): Test of a Breeding-facilitation Hypothesis.- Histology and Gross Morphology of the Sexually Dimorphic Sternal Gland in the North American Opossum, Didelphis virginiana Kerr.- Chemical Communication in Gray Short-tailed Opossums (Monodelphis domestica) with Comparisons to other Marsupials and with Reference to Monotremes.- Observations on Chemical Communication and its Glandular Sources in Selected Insectivora.- Plantar Glands in North American Mustelidae.- The Marking Behavior of Male Przewalski's Horses.- Chemical Communication Among Asian Elephants.- Territorial Scent Marking by Two Sympatric Lemur Species.- Chemical Signals in Callitrichid Monkeys - A Comparative Review.- Cross-cultural Studies of Taste and Smell Perception.- Author Index.- Subject And Taxonomic Index.