Abstract
Group-living mammals must maintain a common group-odour without loosing the means of self-advertisement. In adults advertising sex and fitness is important for reproduction and individual recognition. However, sexually immature individuals display only limited self-advertisement. The transition between the two can be compared to 'olfactory puberty'. In badgers, the subcaudal secretion encodes individual-specific information and group-membership. All adults use the secretion for marking, but cubs do not produce secretion until 4-6 months old. This is paradoxical as cubs suffer from infanticide and group-odours have been shown to reduce aggression. Here, we plan to monitor the olfactory development from weaning to sexual maturity using an integrated suite of analyses. Investigating olfactory puberty will elucidate the mechanisms underlying the formation of stable social groups, and thus contribute to understanding the evolution of sociality.
United Kingdom