Group size and social status affect scent marking in dispersing female meerkats

Abstract

Many animal species use scent marks such as feces, urine, and glandular secretions to find mates, advertise their reproductive status, and defend an exclusive territory. Scent marking may be particularly important during dispersal, when individuals emigrate from their natal territory searching for mates and a new territory to settle and reproduce. In this study, we investigated the scent-marking behavior of 30 dispersing female meerkats (Suricata suricatta) during the three consecutive stages of dispersal—emigration, transience, and settlement. We expected marking patterns to differ between dispersal stages, depending on social circumstances such as presence of unrelated mates and social status of the individuals within each dispersing coalition and also to be influenced by water and food availability. We showed that defecation probability increased with group size during the settlement stage, when newly formed groups are expected to signal their presence to other resident groups. Urination probability was higher in subordinate than in dominant individuals during each of the three dispersal stages and it decreased overall as the dispersal process progressed. Urine may, thus, be linked to advertisement of the social status within a coalition. Anal marking probability did not change across dispersal stages but increased with the presence of unrelated males and was higher in dominants than in subordinates. We did not detect any effect of rain or foraging success on defecation and urination probability. Our results suggest that feces, urine, and anal markings serve different communication purposes (e.g., within and between-group communication) during the dispersal process.

Behavioural change during dispersal and its relationship to survival and reproduction in a cooperative breeder

“…The effect of social circumstances on both behaviours and the absence of a relationship between habitat type and foraging or vigilance support past studies showing that, in dispersing meerkats, social circumstances influence aspects of behaviour more so than habitat characteristics (Cozzi et al., 2018 ; Morales‐González et al., 2019 ). Nonetheless, we cannot rule out that the absence of an effect of habitat type on behaviour may be due to a misrepresentation of the landscape as perceived by dispersers.…”

“…All rights reserved 1996). Furthermore, the increase in time allocated to foraging behaviour with increasing temperatures may act as compensation for the longer midday rest periods taken on hotter days (de Ven et al 2019) The effect of social circumstances on both behaviours and the absence of a relationship between habitat type and foraging or vigilance support past studies showing that, in dispersing meerkats, social circumstances influence aspects of behaviour more so than habitat characteristics Morales-González et al, 2019). Nonetheless, we cannot rule out that the absence of an effect of habitat type on behaviour may be due to a misrepresentation of the landscape as perceived by dispersers.…”

“…We followed individuals one to four times per week, avoiding the hot midday hours as meerkats typically rest during this time (Doolan & Macdonald, 1996 ). We took breaks of at least 20 min between follows in instances where an individual was followed more than once on the same day and considered each focal follow independent (Morales‐González et al., 2019 ).…”

Patterns and determinants of dispersal in grey wolves (Canis lupus)

“…The dispersal process consists of three stages connected by behavioural decisions: emigration from the natal territory, transience through unfamiliar areas, and settlement in a new area (Clobert et al ., 2009). Individual strategies at each dispersal stage vary due to multiple determinants (Bowler & Benton, 2005; Ronce, 2007; Nathan et al ., 2008; Clobert et al ., 2009; Matthysen, 2012; Morales‐González et al ., 2019), which can be grouped into: the internal state of dispersers, e.g. age, sex and body size; and external determinants, including social – e.g.…”

Rubbing behavior of European brown bears: factors affecting rub tree selectivity and density

“…Chemical communication can have different functions that include: self-advertising, i.e., communication of the state or characteristics of the individual, such as age, sex, reproductive status, and health condition; conspecific localization; communication of dominance; and the defense of a resource ( Brown 1979 ; Doty 1986 ; Gosling 1990 ; Johnston 2008 ; Morales-González et al 2019 ). Sometimes, this form of indirect interaction also can prevent agonistic encounters ( Gosling and McKay 1990 ; Roberts and Gosling 2001 ).…”