Gender, age and seasonal dependent self-anointing in the European hedgehogErinaceus europaeus |
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Authors: | Helga D'Havé Jan Scheirs Ron Verhagen Wim De Coen |
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Institution: | 1. Ecophysiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020, Antwerp, Belgium 2. Evolutionary Biology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020, Antwerp, Belgium
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Abstract: | Various hypotheses have been proposed in order to explain self-anointing in hedgehogs, but until now its function is still
poorly understood. In order to obtain a better understanding of self-anointing, we investigated whether this behaviour is
gender, age and seasonal dependent in seven European hedgehogErinaceus europaeus Linnaeus, 1758 populations. Signs of self-anointing were observed in more than 11% of all observations. First-year independent
young were found to self-anoint more than adults, while male hedgehogs bore more signs of self-anointing than females. Self-anointing
in adults displayed a peak in summertime, while no clear pattern was observed for young. We conclude that self-anointing is
clearly dependent on gender, age and season. |
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