Analytical Chemistry Commons^™

Behavioral And Chemical Analysis Of Deposited Chemical Cues In Striped Plateau Lizards, Jay Goldberg

Summer Research

Many pheromones are produced by glands and deposited on substrates throughout the environment. Lizards possess an array of glands that secrete chemical cue. During mating seasons the glandular secretions of many lizards contain elevated levels of lipophilic compounds including: free-fatty acids, sterols, and long-chain fatty alcohols. This study examines the effect of season and hydrophobicity of chemicals on male response to female deposited chemical cues in the Striped Plateau Lizard (Sceloporous virgatus). Cues were collected and then scraped into a vial containing hexane and water in order to separate hydrophilic and lipophilic molecules. Chemical cue fractions were then …