Birth season testosterone levels in male Verreaux’s sifaka, Propithecus verreauxi: insights into socio-demographic factors mediating seasonal testicular function |
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Authors: | D K Brockman Patricia L Whitten Alison F Richard Benjamin Benander |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA e-mail: diane.brockman@duke.edu Tel.: +1-919-6607392, Fax: +1-919-6607348, US;(2) Departments of Anthropology and Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA, US;(3) Provost and Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06420, USA, US;(4) 4839 Carey Drive, Manlius, NY 13104, USA, US |
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Abstract: | Previous research suggests that although reproduction and testicular function in wild sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) are highly seasonal, birth season elevations in fecal testosterone (T) in transferring males indicate that social factors
may be as important as climatic factors in regulating reproductive function in sifaka. This paper examines the relationship
of male dispersal and social status to the patterning of birth season aggression and testicular function in P. verreauxi at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar. Behavioral and hormonal data were collected from a total of 38 adult males,
15 residing in seven stable groups and 23 living in eight unstable groups, yielding 186 fecal samples and 493 focal animal
hours of observation. The results suggest that birth season elevations in fecal testosterone are the consequence of social
disruption resulting from male movements between groups and the particular responses of individual males to dispersal events.
Hormonal responses to dispersal events appear to precede behavioral responses and occasionally register reactions not concomitantly
evident in the behavioral response, and may be predictive of future events. Hormonal reactions occurred primarily in resident
alpha males, suggesting that they differ in their assessment of destabilizing influences, perhaps due to different reproductive
opportunities and/or investment. These findings are important for the new insights they provide into the role of androgens
in mediating male dispersal, life history, and reproductive strategies, and suggest that investigations of androgen-behavior
interactions in free-ranging populations can be a powerful new tool for assessing the contextual and motivational basis of
social behavior.
Received: 22 November 1999 / Revised: 27 April 2000 / Accepted: 15 October 2000 |
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Keywords: | Sifaka Testosterone Seasonality Transfer Aggression |
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