dc.contributor.author |
Young, Andrew J.
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Oosthuizen, Maria Kathleen
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Lutermann, Heike
|
|
dc.contributor.author |
Bennett, Nigel Charles
|
|
dc.date.accessioned |
2011-01-10T08:14:38Z |
|
dc.date.available |
2011-01-10T08:14:38Z |
|
dc.date.issued |
2010 |
|
dc.description.abstract |
In many vertebrate societies, subordinate females exhibit down-regulated reproductive physiologies relative to those of dominants, a condition commonly termed physiological suppression. Research into the causes of physiological suppression has focused principally on
the role of the subordinate’s social environment (typically the presence of the dominant
female and/or an absence of unrelated males within the group), while few studies have
considered the additional role that the physical environment may play. Here we present new
evidence from wild Damaraland mole-rats, Fukomys damarensis, revealing that physiological
suppression among subordinate females eases markedly during the annual rains (a time when
ecological constraints on dispersal are relaxed), despite the continued presence of the
dominant female and in groups that contain no new immigrant males. Subordinate females
showed substantially higher pituitary sensitivities to GnRH challenge during the wet period
than the dry, a contrast that cannot be attributed to between-female differences (as it holds for
paired within-female comparisons), associated changes in body mass (as our analyses control
for this), or concomitant reductions in physiological stress (as their urinary cortisol
concentrations were actually higher in the wet period). We suggest that our findings reflect
selection for the maintenance of reproductive readiness among subordinate females during
high rainfall periods, given the increased likelihood of encountering dispersal and/or mating
opportunities with extra-group males when ecological constraints on dispersal are relaxed.
These findings reveal new complexity in the processes that regulate physiological
suppression, suggesting a key role in some species for changes in the physical as well as
social environment. |
en |
dc.identifier.citation |
Young, AJ, Oosthuizen, MK, Lutermann, H & Bennett, NC 2010, 'Physiological suppression eases in Damaraland mole-rat societies when ecological constraints on dispersal are relaxed', Hormones and Behavior, vol. 57, pp. 177-183. [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0018506X] |
en |
dc.identifier.issn |
0018-506X |
|
dc.identifier.other |
10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.10.011 |
|
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/15553 |
|
dc.language.iso |
en |
en |
dc.publisher |
Elsevier |
en |
dc.rights |
Elsevier |
en |
dc.subject |
Reproductive conflict |
en |
dc.subject |
Reproductive suppression |
en |
dc.subject |
Reproductive skew |
en |
dc.subject |
Ecological constraints |
en |
dc.subject |
Rainfall |
en |
dc.subject |
Social stress |
en |
dc.subject |
Cooperative breeding |
en |
dc.subject |
Physiological suppression |
en |
dc.subject |
Cryptomys damarensis |
en |
dc.subject |
Rodents |
en |
dc.subject.lcsh |
Damaraland (Namibia : Region) |
en |
dc.subject.lcsh |
Bathyergidae |
en |
dc.title |
Physiological suppression eases in Damaraland mole-rat societies when ecological constraints on dispersal are relaxed |
en |
dc.type |
Postprint Article |
en |