Meeting Abstract

63.1  Thursday, Jan. 6  A preliminary analysis of naturally occurring volatile organic compounds associated with nest-sites and feathers from Leach’s storm-petrels, Oceanodroma leucorhoa. PRADA, Paola/A*; NEVITT, Gabrielle; FURTON, Kenneth/G; Univ. of California, Davis; Univ. of California, Davis; Florida International University pprad001@fiu.edu

The sense of smell in birds has been enigmatic, in part due to a general lack of knowledge of the naturally-occurring compounds that birds can detect, and how odor detection thresholds in general compare to other vertebrates in real-world contexts. For example, canines are used worldwide as biological detectors of hazardous or illegal substances and have advantages over instruments, in that they can individualize a scent ‘picture’ even under “noisy” odor backgrounds. Among birds, Leach’s storm-petrels present an ideal comparison in that they have among the largest olfactory bulbs of any birds and thus represent an extreme in the potential olfactory capabilities of birds. They also rely on olfactory cues both for foraging and navigation, and are thought to use individual-specific olfactory cues for rapidly and accurately relocating their home burrow when returning to the colony at night during the breeding season. Virtually nothing is known about the behavioral and physiological sensitivity of Leach’s storm-petrels to either synthetic or naturally occurring odorants, or what types or combinations of volatile organic compounds they naturally encounter. As a first step, we are conducting a preliminary analysis of volatile organic compounds found in petrel burrows and feather samples using solid phase microextraction in conjunction with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS). Preliminary identification of over 100 compounds has been achieved using heated headspace extraction methodologies with sensitive instrumental detection. Analysis comparing burrow to feather odors is currently underway.