Avian chemical communication, once largely overlooked, is a growing field that has revealed the important role that olfaction plays in the social lives of some birds. Leach’s storm-petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) have a remarkable sense of smell and a strong, musky scent. This long-lived, monogamous seabird relies on olfaction for nest relocation and foraging, but whether they use scent for communication is less well studied. They are nocturnally active at the breeding colony and yet successfully reunite with their mate despite poor night-vision, indicating an important role for non-visual communication. We investigated the chemical profiles of Leach’s storm-petrels to determine whether there is socially relevant information encoded in their plumage odor. To capture the compounds comprising their strong scent, we developed a method to study the compounds present in the air surrounding their feathers using headspace stir bar sorptive extraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We collected feathers from Leach’s storm-petrels breeding on Bon Portage Island in Nova Scotia, Canada in both 2015 and 2016. Our method detected 142 commonly occurring compounds. We found interannual differences in chemical profiles between the two sampling years. Males and females had similar chemical profiles, while individuals had distinct chemical signatures across the two years. These findings suggest that the scent of the Leach’s storm-petrel provides sociochemical information that could facilitate olfactory recognition of individuals and may inform mate choice decisions.

中文翻译：

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沥滤风暴海燕中的个别化学特征。

禽类化学交流曾经被广泛忽视，但它是一个正在成长的领域，它揭示了嗅觉在某些鸟类的社交生活中所起的重要作用。浸出的风暴海燕（Oceanodroma leucorhoa）具有明显的嗅觉和强烈的麝香味。这种长寿的一夫一妻制海鸟依靠嗅觉来进行巢穴的重新定位和觅食，但对它们是否使用气味进行交流的研究较少。他们夜间活跃于繁殖地，尽管夜视效果不佳，但仍成功地与伴侣团聚，这说明了非视觉交流的重要作用。我们调查了Leach风暴海燕的化学特征，以确定它们的羽毛气味中是否存在与社会相关的信息。为了捕获具有强烈气味的化合物，我们开发了一种方法，使用顶空搅拌棒吸附萃取结合气相色谱-质谱法研究其羽毛周围空气中存在的化合物。我们分别于2015年和2016年从加拿大新斯科舍省Bon Portage岛的Leach风暴海燕繁殖物中收集了羽毛。我们的方法检测了142种常见化合物。我们发现两个采样年之间的化学特征存在年际差异。男性和女性具有相似的化学特征，而在过去的两年中，个体具有明显的化学特征。这些发现表明，浸出物的风暴海燕的气味提供了社会化学信息，可以促进对个体的嗅觉识别，并可能为伴侣的选择决定提供依据。而在过去的两年中，个体具有明显的化学特征。这些发现表明，浸出物的风暴海燕的气味提供了社会化学信息，可以促进对个体的嗅觉识别，并可能为伴侣的选择决定提供依据。而在过去的两年中，个体具有明显的化学特征。这些发现表明，浸出物的风暴海燕的气味提供了社会化学信息，可以促进对个体的嗅觉识别，并可能为伴侣的选择决定提供依据。