Whether the goal is to mate, control the female’s reproductive cycles, affect gestation and onset of puberty, aggressively defend a nest, lay a territorial boundary, send a warning signal, estab... Pheromones are the key components of the chemical communications that drive animal behavior. How and where these pheromones are produced and released varies greatly from creature to creature. For example, the single-celled amoeba Dicgzostelium discoideum produces a pheromone that attracts others of its kind. Hamsters and other rodents have these chemical attractants in their vaginal secretions. Female hamsters produce and release the strong pheromone apbrodisin, which stirs up sexual interest and behavior in the male. Dogs, horses, deer, camels, and a number of other mammals also have concentrated levels of pheromones in their urine. So powerful are canine pheromones that a bitch in heat can lure males from miles away with her pheromones. Pigs, we have just learned, load up their saliva with pheromones. Some animals produce pheromones in specialized glands located in the genital and anal areas of their bodies. And some produce them in the sebaceous glands of their skin. Throughout history, the odiferous substances secreted by these glands in the musk deer, civet cat, beaver, and muskrat have been sought after and used in perfumes. In some species of insects, specialized “message” glands exist solely to produce pheromones. For example, the male cockroach has a gland on its abdomen that secretes a pheromone designed to incite mating behavior. Like humans, other mammals and reptiles possess a vomeronasal organ that processes pheromone signals. The location of y the VNO varies among species, but most often it is near the oral or nasal cavity. Most insects carry their pheromone receptors on the delicate branches of their antennae. Mammals, amphibians, and reptiles all possess olfactory and accessory olfactory systems. Learn more about the pheromones and the vomeronasal organ (VNO). If she doesn’t get a hug or a cuddle afterward, no worry. Upon completing the sex act, the sow and the boar have accomplished their goal: propagation of the species. These sexual attractants also explain the strange attraction of pigs to trufes. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich and die Liibeck School of Medicine were curious about why a sow will root passionately for hours in search of a single trufe. They unearthed an amazing fact. Trufes send out a chemical come-hither that is identical to 5-alpha-androstenol. Trufes produce even greater quantities of the chemical than do pigs. No wonder the poor, confused female trufe pig cannot help but follow her nose to the source. Since truffles are fungi, in which steroids play key sexual roles, perhaps tormenting sows is just an accidental side-effect. Or perhaps it serves the function of inciting pigs to dig so the spores are spread more widely and the Earth is covered with truffles. Hog farmers have capitalized on the fact that the sow is highly receptive to the pheromones in the male pig’s saliva and breath. “Boar Mate” is used by farmers to coax female pigs into lordosis without putting an actual male in front of them. This makes artificial insemination more effective and profitable. One spray of the stuff and the sow is smitten. Pigs provide but one example of how nonhuman animals use pheromones to communicate. The topic of animal pheromones has been researched extensively. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com Alexander P is a blogger who studies pheromones.