PHEROMONAL EFFECTS OF HARDERIAN GLAND HOMOGENATES ON AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOUR IN THE HAMSTER

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Abstract
The possibility that diverse Harderian gland extracts could influence the aggressive response of a male golden hamster towards an opponent was studied. There is significant variance in the aggression shown by the isolated male towards his opponent depending on the treatment of the latter. Individual comparisons show that aggressive responses are lowered by applying female gland homogenate compared with male gland homogenate or distilled water while the latter 2 treatments provoke comparable aggression. This variation is due to differences in overt attack behavior (attack, bite, fight and chase) rather than threat elements (upright and sideways offensive postures). There is significant variance in attack elements between the 3 treatments, with less being shown to opponents treated with female glands than to ones treated with male glands. There is no significant variance between treatments regarding the frequency of threat behavior, or (despite differences in attack frequency) in the latency to the 1st bite. Female Harderian gland homogenate may inhibit aggressive responses towards a male opponent, even if other cues remain masculine. Conversely, additional male gland homogenate seems neither attack-promoting nor aversive, although its effects could be different if applied to a female opponent.

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