Birth season glucocorticoids are related to the presence of infants in sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi )
| Autor: | Patricia L. Whitten, Diane K. Brockman, Amy K. Cobden |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2009 |
| Předmět: |
Male
media_common.quotation_subject Population Dynamics Population Propithecus Population density General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Birth rate Sifaka Feces Madagascar Animals Birth Rate education Glucocorticoids General Environmental Science media_common Population Density education.field_of_study Behavior Animal General Immunology and Microbiology biology Stressor Age Factors General Medicine biology.organism_classification Strepsirhini Biological dispersal Female Seasons Reproduction General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Research Article Demography |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 276:1855-1863 |
| ISSN: | 1471-2954 0962-8452 |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rspb.2008.1912 |
| Popis: | The responses of plural breeding mammals to environmental stressors are little understood in free-ranging populations, but recent studies of singular breeders suggest that ecological factors and social milieu influence the variable physiological stress responses observed among individuals. Our previous studies examining faecal glucocorticoid (fGC)–behaviour interactions in plural breeding male sifaka ( Propithecus verreauxi ) show that fGC elevations coincide with specific dispersal events, particularly the eviction of subordinates by resident alpha males. This study examined the utility of fGC assays for assessing the stress responses of male sifaka to demographic changes in the population during the birth season. Analyses were based on 889 faecal samples collected over five birth seasons from 124 adult males residing in 55 different groups at Beza Mahafaly, Madagascar. Results show that fGC levels in males are unrelated to age, residence, group stability or rank, but are significantly and positively correlated with the presence of infants, annual elevations in weekly mean fGC concentrations in males paralleling increasing numbers of infants born annually in the population. These data are the first to show that in seasonal plural breeding species such as sifaka, elevated fGC in males reflects specific events related to reproduction rather than states or social context during the birth season. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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