Fears from the past? The innate ability of dogs to detect predator scents.

ABSTRACT: Throughout the animal kingdom, antipredator mechanisms are an evolutionary driving force to enable the survival of species classified as prey. Information regarding a predator's location can be determined through chemosensory cues from urine, faeces, visual and/or acoustic signals and anal gland secretions; and in several lab and field-based studies it has been seen that these cues mediate behavioural changes within prey species. These behaviours are often linked to fear and avoidance, which will in turn increase the prey's survival rate. In many studies dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) have been used as a predator species, however, no research has addressed a dog's innate ability to detect predator scents, hence the rationale behind this study. We assessed the innate ability of the untrained

SUBMITTER: Samuel L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7320930 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature