The dissection of a despotic society : exploration, dominance and hormonal traits

dc.contributor.authorMajelantle, T.L. (Tshepiso)
dc.contributor.authorGanswindt, Andre
dc.contributor.authorHart, Daniel William
dc.contributor.authorHagenah, Nicole
dc.contributor.authorGanswindt, Stefanie Birgit
dc.contributor.authorBennett, Nigel Charles
dc.contributor.emailshepiso.majelantle@zoology.up.ac.zaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-10-02T10:27:24Z
dc.date.available2024-10-02T10:27:24Z
dc.date.issued2024-05
dc.descriptionDATA ACCESSIBILITY : Data are available from Majelantle TL, et al. 2024 The dissection of a despotic society: exploration, dominance and hormonal traits [Dataset]. Dryad. (doi:10.5061/dryad.18931zd37).en_US
dc.descriptionElectronic supplementary material is available online at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7162535.en_US
dc.description.abstractNaked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) live in large colonies with one breeding female (queen), one to three breeding males (BMs) and the remainder are non-reproductive subordinates. The animals have a linear dominance rank with the breeders at the top of the hierarchy. We investigated how dominance rank in naked mole-rats differs with exploration (the propensity to explore a novel environment) and related endocrine markers. Exploration behaviour, faecal progestagen metabolite (fPM), faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGCM), faecal androgen metabolite (fAM) and plasma prolactin concentrations were quantified in breeding, high-, middle- and low-ranked females and males from five naked mole-rat colonies. There were no significant differences between the dominance rank and exploration behaviour. Interestingly, the queens and high-ranking females had higher fGCM and fAM concentrations compared with middle- and low-ranked females. The queens had significantly higher fPM concentrations than all other ranked females, since they are responsible for procreation. In the males, the BMs had higher fGCM concentrations compared with high- and low-ranked males. In addition, BMs and middle-ranking males had overall higher prolactin levels than all other ranked males, which could be linked to cooperative care. Overall, the results suggest that physiological reproductive suppression is linked to high dominance rank.en_US
dc.description.departmentMammal Research Instituteen_US
dc.description.departmentZoology and Entomologyen_US
dc.description.librarianhj2024en_US
dc.description.sdgSDG-15:Life on landen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThe SARChI Chair of Mammalian Behavioural Ecology and Physiology from the DST–NRF South Africa, the National Research Foundation and the University of Pretoria.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspben_US
dc.identifier.citationMajelantle, T.L., Ganswindt, A., Hart, D.W. et al. 2024, 'The dissection of a despotic society: exploration, dominance and hormonal traits', Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 291, no. 2022, art. 20240371, pp. 1-13, doi : 10.1098/rspb.2024.0371.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0962-8452 (print)
dc.identifier.issn1471-2954 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.1098/rspb.2024.0371
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/98441
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherRoyal Societyen_US
dc.rights© 2024 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.en_US
dc.subjectDominance rankingen_US
dc.subjectGlucocorticoidsen_US
dc.subjectProlactinen_US
dc.subjectProgestagensen_US
dc.subjectAndrogensen_US
dc.subjectNaked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber)en_US
dc.subjectNaked mole-rat (NMR)en_US
dc.subjectSDG-15: Life on landen_US
dc.titleThe dissection of a despotic society : exploration, dominance and hormonal traitsen_US
dc.typePostprint Articleen_US

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