High Reproductive Success Despite Queuing - Socio-Sexual Development of Males in a Complex Social Environment.
behavioral development
behavioral plasticity
dominance
guinea pigs
paternity
reproductive success
reproductive tactic
Journal
Frontiers in psychology
ISSN: 1664-1078
Titre abrégé: Front Psychol
Pays: Switzerland
ID NLM: 101550902
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
2019
2019
Historique:
received:
09
08
2019
accepted:
28
11
2019
entrez:
11
1
2020
pubmed:
11
1
2020
medline:
11
1
2020
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
The start of actual breeding in male social mammals can occur long after individuals attain sexual maturity. Mainly prevented from reproduction by older and dominant males, young males often queue until strong enough to compete for favorable social positions and, in this way, to obtain access to females. However, to what extent maturing males also apply tactics to reproduce before this time is largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to elucidate male socio-sexual development from onset of sexual maturity through first mating success until the achievement of a stable social position in a complex social environment. For this purpose, guinea pigs were used as a model system and reproductive success of males living in large mixed-sex colonies was assessed during their first year of life. As a reference, males in a mixed-sex pair situation were examined. Pair-housed males reproduced for the first time around the onset of sexual maturity whereas colony-housed males did so much later in life and with a considerably higher variance. In colonies, reproductive success was significantly affected by dominance status. Dominance itself was age-dependent, with older males having significantly higher dominance ranks than younger males. Surprisingly, both younger and older colony-housed males attained substantial reproductive success of comparable amounts. Thus, younger males reproduced irrespective of queuing and already before reaching a high social status. This mating success of maturing males was most likely achieved via several reproductive tactics which were flexibly applied with the onset of sexual maturity. The period of socio-sexual development before a stable social position is established may, therefore, be a time during which male mammals use flexible behavioral tactics to achieve reproductive success more frequently than commonly is presumed. In addition, the findings strongly indicate that high behavioral plasticity exists well beyond sexual maturity.
Identifiants
pubmed: 31920852
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02810
pmc: PMC6928119
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
2810Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2019 Mutwill, Zimmermann, Reuland, Fuchs, Kunert, Richter, Kaiser and Sachser.
Références
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Jun 28;102(26):9418-23
pubmed: 15964984
Horm Behav. 2011 Nov;60(5):691-8
pubmed: 21983230
Biol Lett. 2018 Nov 21;14(11):
pubmed: 30463922
Anim Behav. 1997 Jul;54(1):213-24
pubmed: 9268451
Mol Ecol. 2008 May;17(9):2287-99
pubmed: 18410290
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2011 Oct;36(9):1370-7
pubmed: 21493009
Front Zool. 2015 Aug 24;12 Suppl 1:S3
pubmed: 26816521
Proc Biol Sci. 2017 Feb 22;284(1849):
pubmed: 28202817
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2013 Apr 08;368(1618):20120344
pubmed: 23569292
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011 Jun;35(7):1518-33
pubmed: 20854842
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 1998 Nov;23(8):891-904
pubmed: 9924743
Physiol Behav. 2010 Jan 12;99(1):40-6
pubmed: 19835897
Am Nat. 2009 Mar;173(3):376-88
pubmed: 19199528
Evolution. 1984 May;38(3):609-621
pubmed: 28555990
J Reprod Fertil. 1976 Nov;48(2):291-300
pubmed: 994101
Trends Ecol Evol. 1998 Jul 1;13(7):288-92
pubmed: 21238306
Evolution. 2002 Aug;56(8):1683-95
pubmed: 12353761
Mol Ecol. 2012 Feb;21(3):541-53
pubmed: 21883591
Physiol Behav. 2017 Nov 1;181:29-37
pubmed: 28859878
Mol Ecol. 2005 Feb;14(2):599-612
pubmed: 15660949
Mol Ecol. 2007 Mar;16(5):1099-106
pubmed: 17305863