Thompson Cynthia L, Bottenberg Kimberly N, Lantz Andrew W, de Oliveira Maria A B, Melo Leonardo C O, Vinyard Christopher J
Department of Biomedical Sciences Grand Valley State University Allendale MI USA.
Department of Chemistry Grand Valley State University Allendale MI USA.
Ecol Evol. 2020 Apr 12;10(11):4691-4701. doi: 10.1002/ece3.6224. eCollection 2020 Jun.
Olfactory cues play an important role in mammalian biology, but have been challenging to assess in the field. Current methods pose problematic issues with sample storage and transportation, limiting our ability to connect chemical variation in scents with relevant ecological and behavioral contexts. Real-time, in-field analysis portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has the potential to overcome these issues, but with trade-offs of reduced sensitivity and compound mass range. We field-tested the ability of portable GC-MS to support two representative applications of chemical ecology research with a wild arboreal primate, common marmoset monkeys (). We developed methods to (a) evaluate the chemical composition of marmoset scent marks deposited at feeding sites and (b) characterize the scent profiles of exudates eaten by marmosets. We successfully collected marmoset scent marks across several canopy heights, with the portable GC-MS detecting known components of marmoset glandular secretions and differentiating these from in-field controls. Likewise, variation in the chemical profile of scent marks demonstrated a significant correlation with marmoset feeding behavior, indicating these scents' biological relevance. The portable GC-MS also delineated species-specific olfactory signatures of exudates fed on by marmosets. Despite the trade-offs, portable GC-MS represents a viable option for characterizing olfactory compounds used by wild mammals, yielding biologically relevant data. While the decision to adopt portable GC-MS will likely depend on site- and project-specific needs, our ability to conduct two example applications under relatively challenging field conditions bodes well for the versatility of in-field GC-MS.
嗅觉线索在哺乳动物生物学中起着重要作用，但在野外评估一直具有挑战性。目前的方法在样本储存和运输方面存在问题，限制了我们将气味中的化学变化与相关生态和行为背景联系起来的能力。实时、现场分析的便携式气相色谱 - 质谱联用仪（GC-MS）有潜力克服这些问题，但存在灵敏度降低和化合物质量范围受限的权衡。我们对便携式GC-MS在野生树栖灵长类动物普通狨猴（）的化学生态学研究的两个代表性应用中的能力进行了实地测试。我们开发了方法来（a）评估在觅食地点沉积的狨猴气味标记的化学成分，以及（b）表征狨猴食用的渗出物的气味特征。我们成功地在几个树冠高度收集了狨猴的气味标记，便携式GC-MS检测到了狨猴腺体分泌物的已知成分，并将其与现场对照区分开来。同样，气味标记的化学特征变化与狨猴的觅食行为显示出显著相关性，表明这些气味具有生物学相关性。便携式GC-MS还描绘了狨猴食用的渗出物的物种特异性嗅觉特征。尽管存在权衡，但便携式GC-MS是表征野生哺乳动物使用的嗅觉化合物的可行选择，可产生具有生物学相关性的数据。虽然采用便携式GC-MS的决定可能取决于特定地点和项目的需求，但我们在相对具有挑战性的野外条件下进行两个示例应用的能力预示着现场GC-MS具有通用性。
