Androgens, Aggressive Behaviour and Social Relationships in Higher Mammals

Bouissou, Marie‐France

doi:10.1159/000179778

Cited by 102 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…4). These results agree with those of studies of other mamma lian species with which seasonal variation in agonistic or marking behaviours has been demonstrated to be clearly androgen depen dent [40,41]. Within 2-3 weeks of the onset of long day length, linear dominance between male mouse lemurs can be unambiguously distinguished and is then maintained un changed until the next quiescent period.…”

Section: Social Regulation Of Sexual Functionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Environmental and Social Determinants of Sexual Function in the Male Lesser Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus)

Perret¹

1992

IJFP

181

106

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Environmental factors that regulate the sexual activity of male lesser mouse lemurs have been studied experimentally with more than 60 captive animals over an 8-year period. In this nocturnal Malagasy prosimian, variation in day length is the primary factor controlling seasonal sexual activity. Plasma testosterone concentrations were low (= 9 ng/ml) during short days and reached 60 ng/ml during long days (>12-hour day). This cyclic pattern persists unchanged when artificial photoperiodic rhythms are applied and is not altered by ageing. The timing of puberty is also regulated by photoperiodic changes. Nevertheless, the sexual activity of the male lesser mouse lemur can be dramatically modified by the social environment. In heterosexual groups, behavioural and physiological components of sexual activity are depressed in all males except the dominant one, whose aggressive interactions are always successful. Intermale sexual inhibition was shown to be mediated by chemical cues present in the urine of dominant or isolated males but not in urine of subordinate individuals. The inhibitory signals possess lipophilic properties and are not contingent on the gonadal activity of the urine donor but are linked to adrenocortical activity. By contrast, chemical signals stimulating the reproductive function of all males are found in the urine of females, the presence of which is required for the establishment of clear dominance among grouped males. Endocrine mechanisms underlying intermale sexual inhibition by chemical cues were analysed. Variations in prolactin strongly suggest that olfaction interacts with the photoperiodic regulation of reproductive function, leading to changes in the sensitivity of the negative feedback effect of testosterone on gonadotrophin secretion. Inhibitory or stimulatory effects of chemical signals are discussed in the context of their functional significance for wild populations.

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Section: Social Regulation Of Sexual Functionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Environmental and Social Determinants of Sexual Function in the Male Lesser Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus)

Perret¹

1992

IJFP

181

106

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“…Androgens are known to be positively related to rates of aggression and dominance status in male mammals (Bouissou 1983a;Von Holst 1989;Monaghan & Glickman 1993). The observation that, in many female mammals, including primates, testosterone treatment can lead to higher aggressiveness and dominance rank ( Joslyn 1973 There was no correlation between the rank indices and androgen concentrations during the mating season (nˆ12, rˆ0.50 and pˆ0.10).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the proximate level, aggression and dominance in male mammals are often linked to higher levels of androgens, particularly testosterone (Bouissou 1983a;Von Holst 1989;Monaghan & Glickman 1992). However, the endocrinological basis of female dominance is still poorly known.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Androgen levels and female social dominance inLemur catta

Engelhard

Kappeler

Heistermann

2000

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Morphological and behavioural traits which improve agonistic power are subject to intrasexual selection and, at the proximate level, are in£uenced by circulating androgens. Because intrasexual selection in mammals is more intense among males, they typically dominate females. Female social dominance is therefore unexpected and, indeed, rare. Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) are sexually monomorphic primates in which all adult females dominate all males. The goal of our study was to test the prediction that female dominance in this species is associated with high androgen levels. Using two captive groups, we collected data on agonistic behaviour and non-invasively assessed their androgen concentrations in faeces and saliva by enzyme immunoassay. We found that adult female L. catta do not have higher androgen levels than males. However, during the mating season there was a twofold increase in both the androgen levels and con£ict rates among females. This seasonal increase in their androgen levels was probably not due to a general increase in ovarian hormone production because those females showing the strongest signs of follicular development tended to have low androgen concentrations. At the individual level neither the individual aggression rates nor the proportion of same-sexed individuals dominated were correlated with their androgen levels. We conclude that female dominance in ring-tailed lemurs is neither based on physical superiority nor on high androgen levels and that it is equally important to study male subordination and prenatal brain priming e¡ects for a complete understanding of this phenomenon.

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“…Traditionally, androgens-most notably testosterone (T)-have been associated with male sexual development and behavior [Adkins-Regan, 1987;Bouissou, 1983;Dixson, 1979;Hart, 1974]. However, recent work on androgens in female vertebrates has drawn attention to the functional significance of T in female development and behavior [reviewed in Staub & De Beer, 1997].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female testosterone, dominance rank, and aggression in an Ethiopian population of hybrid baboons

Beehner

Phillips‐Conroy

Whitten

2005

American J Primatol

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Studies on the relationship between female testosterone (T) measures and behavior, particularly in free-ranging primate populations, remain scant. In this study we used fecal steroid analysis to examine the effects of seasonal, reproductive, and social factors on female T in a group of free-ranging hybrid baboons (Papio sp.) in the Awash National Park of Ethiopia. We collected behavioral and hormonal data from 25 adult females across an 11-month period. Solid phase extraction and radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques were used to quantify T in 776 fecal samples collected weekly from each female. The results indicate that 1) the females had elevated T during pregnancy and during the wet season relative to other periods, 2) female dominance rank was positively related to T measures, and 3) female T and aggression were positively related within subjects but not across subjects. Higher T concentrations during pregnancy are consistent with other published profiles of pregnancy in primates. In combination with data on foraging, wet season increases in T may indicate contest competition for females. The rank-T relationship may be mediated by supplants or aggression. Finally, we discuss the different interpretations of the hormone-behavior relationship based on within- and across-subject analyses.

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Androgens, Aggressive Behaviour and Social Relationships in Higher Mammals

Cited by 102 publications

References 30 publications

Environmental and Social Determinants of Sexual Function in the Male Lesser Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus)

Environmental and Social Determinants of Sexual Function in the Male Lesser Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus)

Androgen levels and female social dominance inLemur catta

Female testosterone, dominance rank, and aggression in an Ethiopian population of hybrid baboons

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