Ferret mothers provide more anogenital licking to male offspring: Possible contribution to psychosexual differentiation

Baum, Michael J.; Bressler, Scott; Daum, Mary C.; Veiga, C.A.; McNamee, C.S.

doi:10.1016/s0031-9384(96)80004-7

Cited by 17 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…This was recorded to control for possible sex biases in LG, since males can attract more (e.g. Moore and Chadwick‐Dias, ; Baum et al, ). For these analyses, sex ratios of living kits at PND1 were used. Kit weight and growth rate: live kits were weighed at PND1 and PND20 to the nearest 0.01 g (Pelouze® SP5 scale).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of environmental enrichment and stereotypic behavior on maternal behavior and infant viability in a model carnivore, the American mink (Neovison vison)

Díez-León

Mason

2015

Zoo Biology

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In several species, stress compromises maternal behaviors that are important for infant viability (e.g. licking and grooming). Understanding how stress in captivity affects maternal behavior could therefore be beneficial, especially for carnivores in zoos and breeding centers where infant mortality is often high. We used a model carnivore--American mink--to test two hypotheses, namely that maternal investment and/or behavior is i. improved by environmental enrichment; and ii. compromised by stereotypic behavior. We observed 22 females raised in an indoor facility, 9 enriched, 13 non-enriched. At birth, and at post-natal day 20 when altricial infants were still fully dependent on their mothers, the following offspring variables were recorded: litter size, infant mortality, litter sex ratio (post-natal day 1), and weight. Maternal behavior was assessed by recording nest shape (post-natal day 1), and the frequency of licking and grooming (post-natal days 1-7). Non-enriched females stereotyped more, had female-skewed litters at birth, and tended to make poorer, flatter nests. Maternal licking and grooming showed large, stable individual differences, but appeared unaffected by enrichment. High levels of maternal stereotypic behavior predicted slower offspring growth, replicating previous findings for farmed mink. Nevertheless, enrichment did not significantly increase infant growth rates nor decrease infant mortality. Due to small sample sizes, our study now needs replicating, particularly to explore the potential benefits of enrichment on nest building, sex ratio effects, and the implications of maternal licking and grooming for offspring stress reactivity. Findings could then apply to endangered mustelids like the European mink.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of environmental enrichment and stereotypic behavior on maternal behavior and infant viability in a model carnivore, the American mink (Neovison vison)

Díez-León

Mason

2015

Zoo Biology

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“…However, such design also has some limitations, as female bank voles usually have mixed-sex litters. It is known that behaviourally, mammalian females might differentiate their care between individual offspring, as in rats (Rattus norvegicus) [57] and ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) [58], male pups receive more licking than female pups. Licking might be one of the mechanisms by which mothers get information on the sex ratio of their offspring.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A trade-off between current and future sex allocation revealed by maternal energy budget in a small mammal

et al. 2011

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Sex-allocation theories generally assume differential fitness costs of raising sons and daughters. Yet, experimental confirmation of such costs is scarce and potential mechanisms are rarely addressed. While the most universal measure of physiological costs is energy expenditure, only one study has related the maternal energy budget to experimentally controlled offspring sex. Here, we experimentally test this in the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) by simultaneously manipulating the litter's size and sex ratio immediately after birth. Two weeks after manipulation, when mothers were at the peak of lactation and were pregnant with concurrent litters, we assessed their energy budget. We found that maternal food consumption and daily energy expenditure increased with the size of the litters being lactated. Importantly, the effects of offspring sex on energy budget depended on the characteristics of the simultaneously gestating litters. Specifically, the mothers nursing all-male litters and concurrently pregnant with male-biased litters had the highest energy expenditure. These had consequences for the next generation, as size of female offspring from the concurrent pregnancy of these mothers was compromised. Our study attests a higher cost of sons, consequently leading to a lower investment in them, and reveals the significance of offspring sex in moulding the trade-off between current and future maternal investment.

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Neuroendocrine Regulation of GnRH Release in Induced Ovulators

Bakker

Baum

2000

Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology

180

135

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GnRH is the key neuropeptide controlling reproductive function in all vertebrate species. Two different neuroendocrine mechanisms have evolved among female mammals to regulate the mediobasal hypothalamic (MBH) release of GnRH leading to the preovulatory secretion of LH by the anterior pituitary gland. In females of spontaneously ovulating species, including rats, mice, guinea pigs, sheep, monkeys, and women, ovarian steroids secreted by maturing ovarian follicles induce a pulsatile pattern of GnRH release in the median eminence that, in turn, stimulates a preovulatory LH surge. In females of induced ovulating species, including rabbits, ferrets, cats, and camels, the preovulatory release of GnRH, and the resultant preovulatory LH surge, is induced by the receipt of genital somatosensory stimuli during mating. Induced ovulators generally do not show "spontaneous" steroid-induced LH surges during their reproductive cycles, suggesting that the positive feedback actions of steroid hormones on GnRH release are reduced or absent in these species. By contrast, mating-induced preovulatory surges occasionally occur in some spontaneously ovulating species. Most research in the field of GnRH neurobiology has been performed using spontaneous ovulators including rat, guinea pig, sheep, and rhesus monkey. This review summarizes the literature concerning the neuroendocrine mechanisms controlling GnRH biosynthesis and release in females of several induced ovulating species, and whenever possible it contrasts the results with those obtained for spontaneously ovulating species. It also considers the adaptive, evolutionary benefits and disadvantages of each type of ovulatory control mechanism. In females of induced ovulating species estradiol acts in the brain to induce aspects of proceptive and receptive sexual behavior. The primary mechanism involved in the preovulatory release of GnRH among induced ovulators involves the activation of midbrain and brainstem noradrenergic neurons in response to genital-somatosensory signals generated by receipt of an intromission from a male during mating. These noradrenergic neurons project to the MBH and, when activated, promote the release of GnRH from nerve terminals in the median eminence. In contrast to spontaneous ovulators, there is little evidence that endogenous opioid peptides normally inhibit MBH GnRH release among induced ovulators. Instead, the neural signals that induce a preovulatory LH surge in these species seem to be primarily excitatory. A complete understanding of the neuroendocrine control of ovulation will only be achieved in the future by comparative studies of several animal model systems in which mating-induced as well as spontaneous, hormonally stimulated activation of GnRH neurons drives the preovulatory LH surge. KEY WORDS: GnRH; MBH; induced ovulators; neuroendocrine regulation; preovulatory LH surge; spontaneous ovulators. © 2000 Academic Press Address correspondence and reprint requests to M. J. Baum at Dept. Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Street, Boston...

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Ferret mothers provide more anogenital licking to male offspring: Possible contribution to psychosexual differentiation

Cited by 17 publications

References 34 publications

Effects of environmental enrichment and stereotypic behavior on maternal behavior and infant viability in a model carnivore, the American mink (Neovison vison)

Effects of environmental enrichment and stereotypic behavior on maternal behavior and infant viability in a model carnivore, the American mink (Neovison vison)

A trade-off between current and future sex allocation revealed by maternal energy budget in a small mammal

Neuroendocrine Regulation of GnRH Release in Induced Ovulators

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