The evolution of semiochemicals in Australian marsupials

Abstract

The aim of this project was to study the nature and relative proportion of the volatile components in the sternal-gland secretions obtained from a wide range of Australian marsupials.The results obtained were then used to investigate the evolution of semiochemicals in Australian marsupials by using the current phylogenetic tree as a template.The initial part of the study was dedicated to the investigation of some of the techniques available for the sampling and analysis of gland secretions. Individuals from 8 families within the Marsupialia and 1 family from the Monotremata were sampled over an 18 month period.The obtained results were then subjected to multivariate statistical analysis followed by cladistic analysis.In several species the secretion composition was found to be affected by the breeding status of individuals for both genders.Many other factors such as animal-age, hierarchical status, diet,and lifestyle were also observed to affect the secretion composition. Finally, cladistic analysis demonstrated the differences in the levels of divergence at the species, familial and ordinal levels and highlighted secretion components that could be used to differentiate between super families, species and even sexual status of individuals.

Date of Award	2003
Original language	English