Kellie A, Dain S J, Banks P B
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, 2052, Kensington, NSW, Australia.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2004 Jun;190(6):429-35. doi: 10.1007/s00359-004-0507-6. Epub 2004 Mar 23.
The exploitation of predator signals by potential prey is well researched, but relatively little is known about how predators exploit chemical cues (either deliberate signals or waste by-products) produced by their prey. In Finland, the urine of some small rodents ( Microtus spp. and Clethrionomys spp.) is reflective in the ultraviolet range of wavelengths, and diurnal raptors with ultraviolet vision use these urine marks to track their rodent prey. This study examines the potential for such a phenomenon in Australian systems by studying the ultraviolet properties of urine from 13 native and introduced mammal species that are variously preyed upon by raptors. Urine from all 13 species displayed various levels of ultraviolet absorbance in their urine and fluorescence in the ultraviolet range. However, no signs of ultraviolet hyper-reflectance were detected, suggesting that the urine of European voles have unique ultraviolet properties. Ultraviolet-sensitive predators in Australia may be able to distinguish between species based on variation in the ultraviolet absorbance of their urine, but ultraviolet properties did not differ between prey and non-prey species, nor marsupial and placental groups. Moreover, because many natural surfaces are ultraviolet absorbing, it is unlikely that raptors could rely upon the ultraviolet properties of urine to target key prey species.
潜在猎物对捕食者信号的利用已得到充分研究，但对于捕食者如何利用猎物产生的化学线索（无论是故意释放的信号还是废物副产品）却知之甚少。在芬兰，一些小型啮齿动物（田鼠属和棕背䶄属）的尿液在紫外波长范围内具有反射性，具有紫外视觉的昼行猛禽利用这些尿液痕迹来追踪它们的啮齿动物猎物。本研究通过研究13种本地和引入的哺乳动物的尿液的紫外特性，来探究澳大利亚生态系统中是否存在这种现象，这些哺乳动物都是猛禽的猎物。所有13个物种的尿液在紫外范围内都表现出不同程度的紫外吸收和荧光。然而，未检测到紫外超反射的迹象，这表明欧洲田鼠的尿液具有独特的紫外特性。澳大利亚对紫外敏感的捕食者或许能够根据猎物尿液紫外吸收的差异来区分物种，但猎物和非猎物物种之间以及有袋动物和胎盘动物群体之间的紫外特性并无差异。此外，由于许多自然表面都会吸收紫外线，猛禽不太可能依靠尿液的紫外特性来锁定主要猎物物种。
