An intergenerational androgenic mechanism of female intrasexual competition in the cooperatively breeding meerkat.

ABSTRACT: Female intrasexual competition can be intense in cooperatively breeding species, with some dominant breeders (matriarchs) limiting reproduction in subordinates via aggression, eviction or infanticide. In males, such tendencies bidirectionally link to testosterone, but in females, there has been little systematic investigation of androgen-mediated behaviour within and across generations. In 22 clans of wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta), we show that matriarchs 1) express peak androgen concentrations during late gestation, 2) when displaying peak feeding competition, dominance behaviour, and evictions, and 3) relative to subordinates, produce offspring that are more aggressive in early development. Late-gestation antiandrogen treatment of matriarchs 4) specifically reduces dominance behavio

SUBMITTER: Drea CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8683399 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature