TY - JOUR
T1 - Elevated urinary testosterone excretion and decreased maternal caregiving effort in marmosets when conception occurs during the period of infant dependence
AU - Fite, Jeffrey E.
AU - French, Jeffrey A.
AU - Patera, Kimberly J.
AU - Hopkins, Elizabeth C.
AU - Rukstalis, Michael
AU - Ross, Corinna N.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was a portion of the dissertation research of J.E. Fite in the Department of Psychology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The research presented was described in Animal Research Protocol No. 95-103-07, and was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Nebraska Medical Center/University of Nebraska at Omaha. Financial support was provided by grants from the National Institutes of Health (HD-42882), the National Science Foundation (IBN 97-23842 and 00-91030), and from the UNOmaha Animal Care Fund.
PY - 2005/1
Y1 - 2005/1
N2 - The proximate mechanisms that regulate transitions in mammalian female reproductive effort have not been widely studied. However, variation in circulating levels of the androgenic steroid hormone testosterone (T) appears to mediate a trade-off between investment in current and future offspring in males [Ketterson, E.D., Nolan, V., Jr., 1992. Hormones and life histories: an integrative approach. Am. Nat. 140, S33-S62; Ketterson, E.D., Nolan, V., Jr., 1994. Hormones and life histories: an integrative approach. In: L.A. Real (Ed.), Behavioral Mechanisms in Evolutionary Ecology, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 327-353; Ketterson, E. D., Nolan, V., Jr., 1999. Adaptation, exaptation, and constraint: A hormonal perspective. Am. Nat. 154S, S4-S25]. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility that T is also associated with transitions in the reproductive effort of females, by examining the relationship between urinary T excretion, maternal caregiving behavior, and the timing of the postpartum conception in female Wied's black tufted-ear marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii). We examined the maternal carrying effort and peripartum T profiles of six females across two conditions: (1) when they conceived during the period of infant dependence (DPID), such that gestation was coupled with lactation; and (2) when the same females conceived after the period of infant dependence (APID). We also assessed the relationship between postpartum T levels and caregiving effort. When female marmosets conceived DPID, they dramatically reduced their caregiving effort, and had higher levels of urinary T, relative to when they conceived APID. Further, the litter-to-litter changes in maternal caregiving effort that we observed were related to variation in urinary T excretion; as weekly levels of urinary T excretion increased, concurrent caregiving effort declined. Our results suggest that variation in T secretion may regulate transitions in female reproductive behavior, and that the regulation of male and female parental behavior may be mediated by homologous neuroendocrine mechanisms.
AB - The proximate mechanisms that regulate transitions in mammalian female reproductive effort have not been widely studied. However, variation in circulating levels of the androgenic steroid hormone testosterone (T) appears to mediate a trade-off between investment in current and future offspring in males [Ketterson, E.D., Nolan, V., Jr., 1992. Hormones and life histories: an integrative approach. Am. Nat. 140, S33-S62; Ketterson, E.D., Nolan, V., Jr., 1994. Hormones and life histories: an integrative approach. In: L.A. Real (Ed.), Behavioral Mechanisms in Evolutionary Ecology, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 327-353; Ketterson, E. D., Nolan, V., Jr., 1999. Adaptation, exaptation, and constraint: A hormonal perspective. Am. Nat. 154S, S4-S25]. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility that T is also associated with transitions in the reproductive effort of females, by examining the relationship between urinary T excretion, maternal caregiving behavior, and the timing of the postpartum conception in female Wied's black tufted-ear marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii). We examined the maternal carrying effort and peripartum T profiles of six females across two conditions: (1) when they conceived during the period of infant dependence (DPID), such that gestation was coupled with lactation; and (2) when the same females conceived after the period of infant dependence (APID). We also assessed the relationship between postpartum T levels and caregiving effort. When female marmosets conceived DPID, they dramatically reduced their caregiving effort, and had higher levels of urinary T, relative to when they conceived APID. Further, the litter-to-litter changes in maternal caregiving effort that we observed were related to variation in urinary T excretion; as weekly levels of urinary T excretion increased, concurrent caregiving effort declined. Our results suggest that variation in T secretion may regulate transitions in female reproductive behavior, and that the regulation of male and female parental behavior may be mediated by homologous neuroendocrine mechanisms.
KW - Callithrix kuhlii
KW - Callitrichid
KW - Conception
KW - Infant care
KW - Marmoset
KW - Maternal behavior
KW - Postpartum
KW - Reproduction
KW - Testosterone
KW - Trade-offs
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U2 - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2004.08.005
DO - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2004.08.005
M3 - Article
C2 - 15579264
AN - SCOPUS:9944233155
SN - 0018-506X
VL - 47
SP - 39
EP - 48
JO - Hormones and Behavior
JF - Hormones and Behavior
IS - 1
ER -