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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe The evolution of social dominance is thought to require phenotypic traits that convey honest information regarding an individual's
status1. These ‘badges of status’ could be communicated by any means, but only avian plumage has been examined and provides equivocal support for the hypothesis2. By chemical manipulation of
the odour of socially naive male cockroaches (_Nauphoeta cinerea_) we show that the sex pheromone of males determines rather than reflects status. The individual chemical constituents of
the pheromone have contrasting effects on status, but the evolution of the blend that confers dominance may be constrained by contrasting selection pressures resulting from female mate
choice. The male-produced pheromone of _N. cinerea_ that attracts females is composed of three compounds: 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 2-methylthiazolidine and 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol3,4. The
quantities of these are heritable and co-vary with male status5,6. Female mate choice is based on pheromonal differences among males7,8. We manipulated the quantities of these three
components individually and in combinations to investigate their effect on interactions between males. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS
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institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support REFERENCES * Dawkins, R. & Krebs, J. R. in _Behavioural Ecology_ (eds Krebs, J. R. &Davies, N. B.) 282-309
(Sinauer, Sunderland, MA, 1978). * Whitfield, D. P. _Trends Ecol. Evol_. 2, 13–18(1987). Google Scholar * Sreng, L. _J. Chem. Ecol_. 16, 2899–2912(1990). Google Scholar * Sirugue, D.,
Bonnard, O., LeQuere, J. -L., Farine, J. -P. & Brossut, R. _J. Chem. Ecol_. 18, 2261–2276(1992). Google Scholar * Moore, A. J., Reagan, N. L. & Haynes, K. F. _Anim. Behav_. 50,
191–202(1995). Google Scholar * Moore, A. J. _Evolution_ (in the press). * Moore, A. J. _Anim. Behav_. 36, 303–305(1988). Google Scholar * Moore, A. J. & Moore, P. J. _Evolution_ 42,
387–391(1988). Google Scholar * Schal, C. & Bell, W. J. _Biol. Behav_. 8, 117–139(1983). Google Scholar * Johnstone, R. A. & Norris, K. _Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol_. 32, 127–134(1993).
Google Scholar Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Transylvania University, Lexington, 40508, Kentucky, USA
Patricia J. Moore & Allen J. Moore * Division of Math and Sciences, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, 40601, Kentucky, USA Nancy L. Reagan-Wallin * Department of Entomology,
University of Kentucky, Lexington, 40546-0091, Kentucky, USA Kenneth F. Haynes Authors * Patricia J. Moore View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google
Scholar * Nancy L. Reagan-Wallin View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Kenneth F. Haynes View author publications You can also search for
this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Allen J. Moore View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions
ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Moore, P., Reagan-Wallin, N., Haynes, K. _et al._ Odour conveys status on cockroaches. _Nature_ 389, 25 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/37888 Download
citation * Issue Date: 04 September 1997 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/37888 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable
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