Variation in fecal testosterone levels, inter‐male aggression, dominance rank and age during mating and post‐mating periods in wild adult male ring‐tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)

American Journal of Primatology - Tập 69 Số 12 - Trang 1325-1339 - 2007
Lisa Gould1, Toni E. Ziegler2
1Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
2Wisconsin Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

Tóm tắt

AbstractIn primate species exhibiting seasonal reproduction, patterns of testosterone excretion in adult males are variable: in some species, peaks correlate with female receptivity periods and heightened male–male aggression over access to estrous females, in others, neither heightened aggression nor marked elevations in testosterone have been noted. In this study, we examined mean fecal testosterone ( f T) levels and intermale aggression in wild adult male ring‐tailed lemurs residing in three groups at Beza Mahafaly Reserve, Madagascar. Results obtained from mating and post‐mating season 2003 were compared to test Wingfield et al. [1990. Am Nat 136:829–846] “challenge hypothesis”, which predicts a strong positive relationship between male testosterone levels and male–male competition for access to receptive females during breeding season. f T levels and rates of intermale aggression were significantly higher during mating season compared to the post‐mating period. Mean f T levels and aggression rates were also higher in the first half of the mating season compared with the second half. Number of males in a group affected rates of intermale agonism, but not mean f T levels. The highest‐ranking males in two of the groups exhibited higher mean f T levels than did lower‐ranking males, and young males exhibited lower f T levels compared to prime‐aged and old males. In the post‐mating period, mean male f T levels did not differ between groups, nor were there rank or age effects. Thus, although male testosterone levels rose in relation to mating and heightened male–male aggression, f T levels fell to baseline breeding levels shortly after the early mating period, and to baseline non‐breeding levels immediately after mating season had ended, offsetting the high cost of maintaining both high testosterone and high levels of male–male aggression in the early breeding period. Am. J. Primatol. 69:1325–1339, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

10.1080/00032717208062116

10.1163/156853974X00534

10.1006/hbeh.2002.1804

10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199605)100:1<57::AID-AJPA6>3.0.CO;2-A

10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199802)105:2<137::AID-AJPA3>3.0.CO;2-S

10.1007/s002650000287

10.1007/978-1-4684-2121-7_12

10.1006/hbeh.2000.1585

10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.07.015

10.1006/anbe.2000.1587

GouldL.1994.Patterns of affiliative behavior in adult male ring‐tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at the Beza‐Mahafaly Reserve Madagascar. Ph.D. dissertation. St. Louis: Washington University.

10.1002/(SICI)1098-2345(1996)39:1<63::AID-AJP5>3.0.CO;2-Q

10.1007/BF02385919

10.1007/978-0-387-34126-2_17

10.1002/ajpa.10151

10.1002/ajp.20166

10.1017/CBO9781139165105.021

10.1007/s10764-005-0728-8

Jolly A, 1966, Lemur behavior

Jolly A, 1984, Female primates: studies by women primatologists, 197

10.1159/000156096

10.1007/BF02381120

10.1016/S0031-9384(99)00024-4

10.1006/hbeh.2002.1772

10.1002/ajp.20099

10.1002/ajp.20062

10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.03.013

10.1007/s00265-002-0532-9

10.1023/A:1024637024088

10.1007/BF00180991

10.1017/S0952836902000468

10.1007/s10329-003-0066-4

10.1002/ajp.1350050406

10.1002/ajpa.1330840409

SautherML.1992.The effect of reproductive state social rank and group size on resource use among free‐ranging ring‐tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) of Madagascar. Ph.D. dissertation. St. Louis: Washington University.

10.1007/978-1-4899-2412-4_10

10.1002/(SICI)1520-6505(1999)8:4<120::AID-EVAN3>3.0.CO;2-O

10.1002/ajpa.10016

10.1073/pnas.94.2.549

10.1006/hbeh.1998.1505

10.1002/ajpa.1330840105

10.1007/BF02547825

10.2307/2388845

10.1007/BF02692291

10.1210/endo-101-5-1579

10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(1998)107:27 <1::AID-AJPA2>3.0.CO;2-H

Wingfield JC, 1987, Testosterone and aggression in birds: tests of the challenge hypothesis, Am Sci, 75, 602

10.1086/285134

10.1159/000047243

10.1095/biolreprod54.1.91

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

American Journal of Primatology

Tập 69 Số 12

1325-1339

Thông tin tác giả