Behav Ecol Sociobiol (2006) 60: 368–378 DOI 10.1007/s00265-006-0174-4 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Torsten Wronski . Ann Apio . Martin Plath The communicatory significance of localised defecation sites in bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) Received: 2 June 2005 / Revised: 25 November 2005 / Accepted: 9 February 2006 / Published online: 16 March 2006 # Springer-Verlag 2006 Abstract Like several other mammals, bushbuck (Trage- laphus scriptus) deposit faeces in specific localised defe- cation sites (LDS). A previous study has ruled out a function of LDS in the context of parasite avoidance. In this study, we investigated the communicatory significance of LDS. In a free ranging population, we tested whether LDS serve to demarcate home ranges, and/or if LDS are used for communication in a non-territorial context. In both sexes, LDS increased significantly in number towards the periphery of individual home ranges. However, the distri- bution pattern of LDS, as revealed by a nearest-neighbour mapping technique (nearest distances between LDS), did not support the idea that LDS serve home range/territory- demarcation because LDS did not follow a pattern of minimal nearest-neighbour distances along the margins of home ranges. We found females to urinate more often in LDS than males. Notably, information transfer was most frequent between sending (urinating or defecating) females and receiving/responding males (urination or defecation at places where a female had previously signalled). Our results suggest that LDS mainly serve for inter-sexual communication in bushbuck. Keywords Antelopes . Information centres . Inter-sexual communication . Territoriality . Uganda Introduction Scent marking is a widespread form of communication in mammals (Eisenberg and Kleiman 1972; Johnson 1973; Ewer 1976; Vandenbergh 1983). It can be linked to a wide range of contexts, including kin recognition and social learning (Ramsay and Giller 1996), the advertisement of reproductive status (Walls et al. 1989; Heise and Rozenfeld 2002), interactions between predators and prey (Lewis and Murray 1993), foraging (Henry 1977), dispersal and dispersion (Gorman and Stone 1990; Lenti Boero 1995), reproductive suppression (Rylands 1990) and the mainte- nance of dominance hierarchies and internal group-bonds (Gosling and Wright 1994; Gosling et al. 1996). Further- more, scent marking is often related to the occupation and maintenance of a territory or home range (Gorman 1984; Gosling 1990; Lenti Boero 1995). Urine and faeces of most mammals contain species-specific, odoriferous substances (pheromones), but not all species use them for marking (Wyatt 2003). Among ungulates, urination and defecation, whether scattered or localised, are perhaps the most common forms of scent marking (Ralls 1971). The deposition of excreta bearing scents that identify the depositor may convey specific information about him or her (Altmann 1969; Ewer 1976). In many mammalian species, excreta accumulate in localised defecation sites (LDS; Brown and MacDonald 1985; Smith et al. 1989; Pigozzi 1990; Estes 1991; Sneddon 1991; Hutchings et al. 2002; Marassi and Biancardi 2002). Beside a possible function for communication, localised defecation may have a hygienic function in the context of parasite avoidance (Cooper 1997; Ezenwa 2000, 2004; Hutchings et al. 1998, 1999; van der Wal et al. 2000). Communicated by E. Korpimäki T. Wronski Department of Behaviour, Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, Hamburg 20146, Germany A. Apio Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science with Education, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 1410 Mbarara, Uganda M. Plath (*) Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Systematic Zoology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Street 24-25, Potsdam 14476, Germany e-mail: martin_plath@web.de Tel.: +49-331-977-5586 Fax: +49-331-977-5070 M. Plath Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019, USA