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First published online November 4, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 4199-4202 (2005)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2005
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01872

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Switch to diester preen waxes may reduce avian nest predation by mammalian predators using olfactory cues

Jeroen Reneerkens^1,*, Theunis Piersma^1,2 and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté¹

¹ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), PO Box 59, 1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands
² Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: reneer{at}nioz.nl)

Accepted 6 September 2005

It has long been recognised that nest depredation by olfactory-searching mammals greatly influences the reproductive success of ground-nesting birds. Yet adaptations of birds to diminish smell during nesting have rarely been investigated. Recently, a remarkable shift in the composition of uropygial gland secretions (preen waxes) was discovered in many ground-nesting shorebirds and ducks that begin incubation, during which the usual mixtures of monoester preen waxes are replaced by mixtures of less volatile diester waxes. In this study we show experimentally that an olfactory-searching dog had greater difficulty detecting mixtures of the less volatile diesters than mixtures of monoesters. This is consistent with the hypothesis that diester preen waxes reduce birds' smell and thereby reduce predation risk.

Key words: uropygial gland, preen wax, camouflage, olfaction, nest predation, sandpiper, Calidris canutus

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