The effect of early social experience on male sexual behaviour of androgen injected turkeys
| Autor: | E.B. Hale, Martin W. Schein |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1959 |
| Předmět: |
education.field_of_study
medicine.drug_class Hatching Population Physiology Stimulation Stimulus (physiology) Androgen Intraspecific competition Developmental psychology Preference test medicine Social experience Animal Science and Zoology education Psychology Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
| Zdroj: | Animal Behaviour. 7:189-200 |
| ISSN: | 0003-3472 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/0003-3472(59)90008-9 |
| Popis: | The object of this study was to determine the effect of early social experience on the patterns and levels of sexual behaviour and on the stimuli releasing sexual patterns. Androgen injected male and female turkeys were studied from hatching through 5–8 weeks of age. Twenty-eight birds lived in grouped environments, while 21 others were reared under conditions of intraspecific visual isolation. Sixteen additional birds were raised in groups for a period of time post-hatching, and then visually isolated for the duration of the experiment. Various stimulus objects were used as sexual releasers in several tests during the experiment. These included a poult head, a poult body without the head, the observer's hand, and several inanimate objects. Complete strutting patterns were exhibited by some birds in each treatment category prior to or during their first test. Of 8 males in the isolated and group-isolated categories which showed fully organised “copulatory movements” at some time during the experimental period, 7 did so during their first test with an appropriate stimulus. Further, the sexual reaction of a bird to a particular stimulus object generally was consistent and did not increase in repeated tests during the course of the experiment. Hence, it is concluded that the development of the pattern of sexual behaviour is not dependent upon early social or sexual experience. Treatment differences were most notable with respect to the stimuli which released sexual behaviour. In a preference test, no bird in any treatment category responded preferentially to the headless body. Those birds with early group experience reacted predominantly to the head model, which is in accord with what has been observed in normally reared adult males. However, birds reared in isolation gave sexual responses predominantly to the observer's hand. Hence, it is concluded that early social experience markedly modifies the releasing value of sexual stimuli. Under the test conditions of this experiment, ratings for levels of apparent sexual behaviour would be, from highest to lowest: group-isolated, isolated and grouped birds. However, it is pointed out that expression of the sexual potential of the population is dependent upon: (1) avoidance behaviour; (2) the appropriateness of the stimulus; (3) the temporary response potential resulting from the degree of recent stimulation. The data were re-evaluated in terms of a conceptual model which incorporated only these factors and the sex differences in sensitivity to androgen injections. Application of the model to the data strongly suggests that transient test conditions rather than prolonged differential social or sexual experiences contributed to the apparent differences in levels of response. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|