Repellent function of male pheromones in the red-spotted newt.
Pheromones act as attractants and sexual stimulants in most vertebrates. For example, in red-spotted newts, Notophthalmus viridescens, female pheromones attract males, and male pheromones increase female receptivity. However, no studies have determined whether male vertebrates produce a pheromone that repels competing males. Through a series of olfactory mate selection tests, we found that sexually motivated male red-spotted newts produce a pheromone that functions to repel other approaching males. Our finding is the first report of a repelling function for pheromones in male vertebrates. The pheromones may act to increase both the sender's and receiver's mating success when the operational sex ratio (OSR) is male biased.
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Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA. dp27@dana.ucc.nau.edu
Propper
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D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement; D019185:Notophthalmus; D012724:Sex Attractants; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
D012724:Sex Attractants