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Understanding the underlying factors of scent communication in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo / LUCIE MURPHY

Swansea University Author: LUCIE MURPHY

Abstract

Scent communication is the most widespread form of communication throughout the animal kingdom, whereby animals use semiochemicals such as pheromones to transfer information from one individual to another. Group living animals this method of communication to exchange an array information used to dis...

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Published: Swansea 2026
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Master of Research
Degree name: MRes
Supervisor: Nichols, H.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71773
first_indexed 2026-04-21T12:12:27Z
last_indexed 2026-04-22T09:44:58Z
id cronfa71773
recordtype RisThesis
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spelling 2026-04-21T13:12:25.2053589 v2 71773 2026-04-21 Understanding the underlying factors of scent communication in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo ff26bfe4786d8ca18be0a7af4ce6fb72 LUCIE MURPHY LUCIE MURPHY true false 2026-04-21 Scent communication is the most widespread form of communication throughout the animal kingdom, whereby animals use semiochemicals such as pheromones to transfer information from one individual to another. Group living animals this method of communication to exchange an array information used to distinguish familiar individuals from competition, mark territories or identify potential mates.Banded mongooses, Mungos mungo, are an ideal model species to investigate the use of scent due to their cooperative breeding structure and prolific use of scent. Here we focus on a population of banded mongooses in Uganda that have a detailed record of individuals sex, ages, pregnancies and social groups. Using GC-MS to analyse the chemical profile of anal gland secretions from individuals alongside their life history we can identify potential factors that may influence an individual’s chemical profile.Through general(ised) linear mixed effect models and analysis of similarities wewere able to determine which factors might influence scent and how scent differs between demographics. We found that age has a significant influence on an individual’s chemical profile as well as changes in chemical composition coinciding with seasons and reproductive status. Although there were no significant chemical differences between social groups, we did find that individuals produce chemically distinct scents that could be used in both inter and intra group communication. This research unveils the chemical foundations of scent communication within a social group living species.Lay Summary:The use of chemicals to communicate is found across the living world from amoebas to mammals and can provide individuals with a wealth of information about their surroundings. Other mammals are particularly well adapted at using chemicals (perceived using scent), with many species able to recognise individuals, find mates and mark their territory boundaries. However, we know little about what chemicals are involved in scent communication. In this study we analyse the anal gland secretions of the banded mongoose to determine the number of compounds within each individual secretion. We found that individuals have distinct scents that are likely used in individual identification, but there were no such chemical signatures of group membership. Age heavily influenced the number and evenness of chemicals within the scent. We also found that temporal differences in scent composition and reproductive status also affected the number of chemicals in the profiles. Together, these results reveal the chemical patterns underlying scent communication in a social mammal. E-Thesis Swansea Chemical communication, Banded mongoose, Mungos mungo, Scent, Gland, GC-MS 9 3 2026 2026-03-09 COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Nichols, H. Master of Research MRes 2026-04-21T13:12:25.2053589 2026-04-21T12:13:29.9659130 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences LUCIE MURPHY 1 71773__36542__4ddc2abed14c4e44a63a241315f0c595.pdf 2026_Murphy_L.final.71773.pdf 2026-04-21T13:09:03.7975934 Output 2852765 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true Copyright: the author, Lucie Murphy, 2026 true eng
title Understanding the underlying factors of scent communication in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo
spellingShingle Understanding the underlying factors of scent communication in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo
LUCIE MURPHY
title_short Understanding the underlying factors of scent communication in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo
title_full Understanding the underlying factors of scent communication in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo
title_fullStr Understanding the underlying factors of scent communication in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo
title_full_unstemmed Understanding the underlying factors of scent communication in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo
title_sort Understanding the underlying factors of scent communication in the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo
author_id_str_mv ff26bfe4786d8ca18be0a7af4ce6fb72
author_id_fullname_str_mv ff26bfe4786d8ca18be0a7af4ce6fb72_***_LUCIE MURPHY
author LUCIE MURPHY
author2 LUCIE MURPHY
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
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description Scent communication is the most widespread form of communication throughout the animal kingdom, whereby animals use semiochemicals such as pheromones to transfer information from one individual to another. Group living animals this method of communication to exchange an array information used to distinguish familiar individuals from competition, mark territories or identify potential mates.Banded mongooses, Mungos mungo, are an ideal model species to investigate the use of scent due to their cooperative breeding structure and prolific use of scent. Here we focus on a population of banded mongooses in Uganda that have a detailed record of individuals sex, ages, pregnancies and social groups. Using GC-MS to analyse the chemical profile of anal gland secretions from individuals alongside their life history we can identify potential factors that may influence an individual’s chemical profile.Through general(ised) linear mixed effect models and analysis of similarities wewere able to determine which factors might influence scent and how scent differs between demographics. We found that age has a significant influence on an individual’s chemical profile as well as changes in chemical composition coinciding with seasons and reproductive status. Although there were no significant chemical differences between social groups, we did find that individuals produce chemically distinct scents that could be used in both inter and intra group communication. This research unveils the chemical foundations of scent communication within a social group living species.Lay Summary:The use of chemicals to communicate is found across the living world from amoebas to mammals and can provide individuals with a wealth of information about their surroundings. Other mammals are particularly well adapted at using chemicals (perceived using scent), with many species able to recognise individuals, find mates and mark their territory boundaries. However, we know little about what chemicals are involved in scent communication. In this study we analyse the anal gland secretions of the banded mongoose to determine the number of compounds within each individual secretion. We found that individuals have distinct scents that are likely used in individual identification, but there were no such chemical signatures of group membership. Age heavily influenced the number and evenness of chemicals within the scent. We also found that temporal differences in scent composition and reproductive status also affected the number of chemicals in the profiles. Together, these results reveal the chemical patterns underlying scent communication in a social mammal.
published_date 2026-03-09T10:44:58Z
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score 11.103362

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