1.01 BearbeiterInnen FFH-VP-Info (siehe Impressum) (o. J.)

Der Geruchssinn ist insbesondere beim Sozialverhalten der Tiere von Bedeutung. Inwieweit olfaktorische Reize Interaktionen beeinträchtigen können, ist derzeit nicht bekannt, kann aber nicht ausgeschlossen werden.

Qualifizierung der Quelle: E

1.02 Kowaleswky, S., Dambach, M., Mauck, B. & Dehnhardt, G (2006)

"As atmospheric dimethyl sulphide (DMS) has been demonstrated to be a reliable indicator for profitable foraging areas we tested seals for their ability to smell DMS at concentrations typical for the marine environment. [...] Our results demonstrate for the first time an extraordinarily high olfactory sensitivity in a pinniped species for a substance potentially relevant to their sensory ecology. [...] the olfactory sensitivity of these animals to DMS is well tuned to the DMS concentration found in the marine habitat and could provide the sensory basis for the location or at least identification of patchily distributed foraging grounds. [...] Although further experimentation is necessary [...] the high sensitivity for DMS found here demonstrates that olfaction may play a significant and hitherto underestimated role in pinnipeds."

Qualifizierung der Quelle: D