Social categories in families of Mongolian gerbils

Scheibler, Elke; Weinandy, René; Gattermann, Rolf

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2004.02.011

Cited by 31 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Each group consists of 2-17 individuals, including juveniles, adult males, and adult females, possibly an extended family group (Agren et al 1989a). Behavioral observations suggest that Mongolian gerbils are socially monogamous: male and female founders form a pair until 1 of them dies or disperses (Scheibler et al 2004). Furthermore, Mongolian gerbils are cooperative breeders (Clark and Galef 2001).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Ecology of Wild Mongolian Gerbils Meriones Unguiculatus

Liu

Wang

et al. 2009

Journal of Mammalogy

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Ecology of Wild Mongolian Gerbils Meriones Unguiculatus

Liu

Wang

et al. 2009

Journal of Mammalogy

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“…Similar sex differences in aggressiveness toward infants have been reported in previous studies of Mongolian gerbils (Elwood (1977, 1980) as well as several other cooperative breeders, including prairie voles (Lonstein & De Vries, 1999; Roberts et al, 1998), dwarf hamsters ( Phodopus campbelli ; Vella, Evans, Ng, & Wynne-Edwards, 2005), common marmosets (Saltzman, Liedl, Salper, Pick, & Abbott, 2008), and meerkats ( Suricata suricatta ; Clutton-Brock, Brotherton, Smith, McIlrath, Kansky, Gaynor, O'Riain, & Skinner, 1998). These findings may reflect sex differences in the the intensity of reproductive competition in gerbils (Scheibler, Weinandy, & Gattermann, 2004) and other cooperative breeders, as females typically engage in more severe competition than males (Digby, 2000; Saltzman, 2003; Young & Clutton-Brock, 2003), resulting, perhaps, from sex differences in both the costs of reproduction and the certainty of parentage (Mumme, 1997). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of siblings on reproductive maturation and infanticidal behavior in cooperatively breeding Mongolian gerbils

Saltzman

Thinda

Higgins

et al. 2008

Developmental Psychobiology

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Mongolian gerbils living with their natal families undergo delayed reproductive maturation while helping to rear their younger siblings, whereas those housed away from their natal families may mature earlier but often respond aggressively to unfamiliar pups. We tested whether cohabitation with pups contributes to reproductive suppression and inhibition of infanticidal behavior, using young males and females housed with (1) their parents and younger siblings (pups), (2) parents without pups, (3) mixed-sex littermate groups, or (4) mixed-sex groups of unrelated peers. Maturation in males was inhibited by cohabitation with the parents, while maturation in females was further suppressed in the presence of pups. Males in all housing conditions showed little aggression towards unfamiliar pups, whereas females were usually infanticidal unless housed with pups. Aggression toward pups was especially pronounced in females that were pregnant or undergoing ovulatory cycles. Thus, cohabitation with younger siblings may intensify reproductive suppression and inhibit infanticidal behavior in female gerbils, whereas male gerbils exhibit parentally-induced reproductive suppression and low rates of infanticide even in the absence of younger siblings.

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“…In general, presentation of data started with the first aggression period and ended with the last one. Based on Scheibler et al (2004), family members were assigned to one of three different social categories. Individuals living in their families for their whole life, without reproducing and without being attacked, were categorized as IFMs.…”

Section: Animals and Housing Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That is most probably the reason why animals will be attacked when they act as competitors. In a recent study, the assignment of the offspring into two social categories was performed on the basis of aggressive interactions (Scheibler et al 2004). The first category was the EFMs and the majority of the animals belonged to this group.…”

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although a sophisticated analysis is still lacking, the competition for reproductive access has been found as a major trigger (Roper and Polioudakis 1976;Swanson and Lockley 1978;Clark and Galef 2001). In order to further elucidate family dynamics, we previously suggested that there are three social categories in family groups based on aggressive interactions and parameters indicating stress: (1) founder pairs remained in their family and reproduced; (2) integrated family members (IFMs) remained in their natal family but did not reproduce; (3) expelled family members (EFMs) were attacked (Scheibler et al 2004). Animals in these categories were further characterized by their body mass and body composition, because the parameters were developed to illustrate the status of an animal, its resources and level of stress-implications (ground squirrels: , rats: Harris et al 1998, murines: Breed and Taylor 2000.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intra-family aggression and offspring expulsion in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) under restricted environments

2005

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Mongolian gerbils live in families consisting of a founder pair, to which reproduction is mainly restricted, and the offspring. They are described as cooperative breeder in which males and offspring act as helpers. Family dynamics have not been systematically investigated, particularly concerning the long-term consequences of periods of aggression. In a conceptual framework, promoting factors were investigated for the outbreak of aggression and its consequences on the families and on the individual level. Moreover, previously defined and described integrated (IFMs) and expelled family members (EFMs) were further characterized by frequent measurements of body mass and body composition. Six families were monitored for at least 1.5 years under controlled laboratory conditions. Regularly, the family composition and the individual state of each family member were inspected. In case of agonistic interactions, aggression periods were characterized by onset, number, duration, number of expelled animals and family size. First aggression period has been occurred 247.8737.7 days post-founding. As a consequence, family size was reduced significantly from 18.771.8 to 17.571.8 animals; the number of females decreased too from 10.671.8 to 9.771.8 females per family. All Mongolian gerbils experienced 2.470.2 aggression periods per life. All EFMs had a reduced body mass increase during aggression periods compared with integrated ones. Expelled males had a lower body mass than their integrated siblings; there was no such difference in females. In each aggression period, 2.670.2 adult animals per family were expelled. There was no sex-specific expulsion rate. Mainly founder females acted as aggressors (in 60% of all aggression periods). Up to three animals operated together aggressively, but mainly only one animal attacked the other family members (in 78% of all aggression periods). To conclude, animals of both sexes were excluded due to changes in family structure and an increased family size. Furthermore, females were expelled due to competition for exclusive reproduction. Males with lower body mass were more prone to be expelled, whereas in females no morphometrical characteristics favour the expulsion.

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Social categories in families of Mongolian gerbils

Cited by 31 publications

References 54 publications

Population Ecology of Wild Mongolian Gerbils Meriones Unguiculatus

Population Ecology of Wild Mongolian Gerbils Meriones Unguiculatus

Effects of siblings on reproductive maturation and infanticidal behavior in cooperatively breeding Mongolian gerbils

Intra-family aggression and offspring expulsion in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) under restricted environments

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