Organizational and activational androgens, lemur social play, and the ontogeny of female dominance.
Abstract
The role of androgens in shaping "masculine" traits in males is a core focus in behavioral
endocrinology, but relatively little is known about an androgenic role in female aggression
and social dominance. In mammalian models of female dominance, including the ring-tailed
lemur (Lemur catta), links to androgens in adulthood are variable. We studied the
development of ring-tailed lemurs to address the behavioral basis and ontogenetic
mechanisms of female dominance. We measured behavior and serum androgen concentrations
in 24 lemurs (8 males, 16 females) from infancy to early adulthood, and assessed their
'prenatal' androgen milieu using serum samples obtained from their mothers during
gestation. Because logistical constraints limited the frequency of infant blood sampling,
we accounted for asynchrony between behavioral and postnatal hormone measurements
via imputation procedures. Imputation was unnecessary for prenatal hormone measurements.
The typical sex difference in androgen concentrations in young lemurs was consistent
with adult conspecifics and most other mammals; however, we found no significant sex
differences in rough-and-tumble play. Female (but not male) aggression increased beginning
at approximately 15 months, coincident with female puberty. In our analyses relating
sexually differentiated behavior to androgens, we found no relationship with activational
hormones, but several significant relationships with organizational hormones. Notably,
associations of prenatal androstenedione and testosterone with behavior were differentiated,
both by offspring sex and by type of behavior within offspring sexes. We discuss the
importance of considering (1) missing data in behavioral endocrinology research, and
(2) organizational androgens other than testosterone in studies of female dominance.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AggressionAndrostenedione
Female dominance
Imputation models
Masculinization
Play
Strepsirrhine primate
Testosterone
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19149Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.07.002Publication Info
Grebe, Nicholas M; Fitzpatrick, Courtney; Sharrock, Katherine; Starling, Anne; & Drea,
Christine M (2019). Organizational and activational androgens, lemur social play, and the ontogeny of
female dominance. Hormones and behavior, 115. pp. 104554. 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.07.002. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/19149.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Christine M. Drea
Professor in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
I have two broad research interests, sexual differentiation and
social behavior, both focused on hyenas and primates. I am
particularly interested in unusual species in which the females
display a suite of masculinized characteristics, including male-
like or exaggerated external genitalia and social dominance.
The study of naturally occurring hormones in such unique
mammals can reveal general processes of hormonal activity,
expressed in genital morphology, reproductive development,
and
Nicholas Grebe
Postdoctoral Associate
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