ArticleJournal of chemical ecology2014
Variation in preen oil composition pertaining to season, sex, and genotype in the polymorphic white-throated sparrow.
Article in Journal of chemical ecology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the associations between preen oil bacterial, chemical and proteomic profiles of passerines.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2025Article
- Analytical characterization of volatiles present in the whole body odour of zebra finches.Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry · 2024Article
- Review
- Female-Based Patterns and Social Function in Avian Chemical Communication.Journal of chemical ecology · 2021Review
- Individual Chemical Profiles in the Leach's Storm-Petrel.Journal of chemical ecology · 2020Article
- Food stress, but not experimental exposure to mercury, affects songbird preen oil composition.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2020Article
- Conspecific olfactory preferences and interspecific divergence in odor cues in a chickadee hybrid zone.Ecology and evolution · 2019Article
- Wax Ester Composition of Songbird Preen Oil Varies Seasonally and Differs between Sexes, Ages, and Populations.Journal of chemical ecology · 2019Article
- Individual- and Species-Specific Skin Microbiomes in Three Different Estrildid Finch Species Revealed by 16S Amplicon Sequencing.Microbial ecology · 2018Article
- Songbird chemical signals reflect uropygial gland androgen sensitivity and predict aggression: implications for the role of the periphery in chemosignaling.Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Evidence for the the ability of birds to detect olfactory signals is now well documented, yet it remains unclear whether birds secrete chemicals that can be used as social cues. A potential source of chemical cues in birds is the secretion from the uropygial gland, or preen gland, which is thought to waterproof, maintain, and protect feathers from ectoparasites. However, it is possible that preen oil also may be used for individual recognition, mate choice, and signalling social/sexual status. If preen oil secretions can be used as socio-olfactory signals, we should be able to identify the volatile components that could make the secretions more detectable, determine the seasonality of these secretions, and determine whether olfactory signals differ among relevant social groups. We examined the seasonal differences in volatile compounds of the preen oil of captive white-throated sparrows, Zonotrichia albicollis. This species is polymorphic and has genetically determined morphs that occur in both sexes. Mating is almost exclusively disassortative with respect to morph, suggesting strong mate choice. By sampling the preen oil from captive birds in breeding and non-breeding conditions, we identified candidate chemical signals that varied according to season, sex, morph, and species. Linear alcohols with a 10-18 carbon chains, as well as methyl ketones and carboxylic acids, were the most abundant volatile compounds. Both the variety and abundances of some of these compounds were different between the sexes and morphs, with one morph secreting more volatile compounds in the non-breeding season than the other. In addition, 12 compounds were seasonally elevated in amount, and were secreted in high amounts in males. Finally, we found that preen oil signatures tended to be species-specific, with white-throated sparrows differing from the closely related Junco in the abundances and/or prevalence of at least three compounds. Our data suggest roles for preen oil secretions and avian olfaction in both non-social as well as social interactions.
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