O'Dwyer Terence W, Nevitt Gabrielle A
Section of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009 Jul;1170:442-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.03887.x.
Since the groundbreaking work of Wenzel, Bang, and Grubb in the 1960s, enormous progress has been made toward elucidating the sense of smell in procellariiform seabirds. Although it is now well established that adult procellariiforms use olfaction in many behaviors, such as for foraging, nest relocation, and mate recognition, the olfactory abilities of petrel chicks are less well understood. Recent studies have shown that petrel chicks can recognize prey-related odors and odors associated with their nest before leaving their burrow for the first time. The recognition of burrow odors by petrel chicks is unlikely to be used for homing, and we have suggested that chicks may be learning personal odors associated with the nest's occupants for use later in life in the context of kin recognition or mate choice. The source of personal odors in petrels is unknown. However, in other vertebrates, the major histocompatibility complex influences body odors, which in turn influence mating preferences. It is not currently known whether this highly polymorphic gene region influences body odors and individual recognition in the procellariiforms, but this could be a fruitful area of future research.
自20世纪60年代温泽尔、班格和格鲁布开展开创性工作以来，在阐明鹱形目海鸟的嗅觉方面已取得了巨大进展。尽管现在已经明确成年鹱形目鸟类在许多行为中都利用嗅觉，比如觅食、重新定位巢穴和识别配偶，但海燕幼鸟的嗅觉能力却鲜为人知。最近的研究表明，海燕幼鸟在首次离开洞穴之前就能识别与猎物相关的气味以及与它们巢穴相关的气味。海燕幼鸟对洞穴气味的识别不太可能用于归巢，我们认为幼鸟可能是在学习与巢穴居住者相关的个体气味，以便日后在亲属识别或配偶选择的背景下使用。海燕个体气味的来源尚不清楚。然而，在其他脊椎动物中，主要组织相容性复合体影响身体气味，进而影响交配偏好。目前尚不清楚这个高度多态的基因区域是否会影响鹱形目鸟类的身体气味和个体识别，但这可能是未来一个富有成果的研究领域。
